Hamilton storms to Malaysia pole, Vettel last on grid

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton put on a stunning display to seal pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix on Saturday as his Formula One title rival Sebastian Vettel suffered a disastrous qualifying session and will start last on the grid.

The Briton, who leads Vettel by 28 points in the overall standings, set a time of one minute, 30.076 seconds in his Mercedes, narrowly beating Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, who was just 0.045 seconds slower.

Max Verstappen, celebrating his 20th birthday on Saturday, will start third in his Red Bull.

Vettel, who had been one of the quickest drivers all through practice, failed to set a time after being beset by engine problems, causing a huge blow to his championship hopes.