Brazilian Grand Prix Qualifying: Hamilton JUST beats Rosberg to pole

Lewis Hamilton keeps his hopes of the driver’s championship alive with pole position at the 2016 Brazil Grand Prix, just ahead of Nico Rosberg.

Lewis Hamilton has done all he can in qualifying for the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix by taking pole position, but it probably won’t be enough.

It won’t be enough because Nico Rosberg is sticking tenaciously to him, in qualifying and race, so even if Lewis wins in Brazil all Nico has to do is keep doing what he’s doing and he will be champion. And probably rightly so.

What Lewis needs – by accident or design (which isn’t without precedent) – is a DNF from Rosberg while he takes the win. But that’s in the lap of the Gods.

For now, it will all be over in Brazil if Rosberg wins. Which adds an extra frisson to the race.

Behind the two warring Mercedes’ it’s the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, followed by the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, with Sebastian Vettel in sixth spot.

Romain Grosjean looked pretty impressive in seventh spot for Haas, with the Force Indias of Hulkenberg and Perez following on and Fernando Alonso putting his McLaren in tenth. Jenson Button could only manage 17th on the grid.

What could mix things up in Brazil is the weather, with rain forecast it could turn things upside down. But Hamilton has never won here, and unless he changes that he’s lost the 2016 driver’s title to Rosberg.