F1: Lewis Hamilton claims record-breaking pole position in Japan GP

Lewis Hamilton claimed a comfortable pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix, where he will start ahead of title rival Sebastian Vettel, who had the third quickest time in qualifying.

Hamilton set a blistering 1:27.319 in Q3, the quickest ever lap around the Suzuka circuit, to grab the 71st career pole of his career and 10th of the season. 

Hamilton's benchmark was 0.332s quicker than teammate Valtteri Bottas. However, the Finn will drop five places down the order once his grid penalty is applied for a gearbox change ahead of the weekend. That means Sebastian Vettel, who was 0.1s off Bottas' time, will start alongside Hamilton on the front row of the grid.

Hamilton leads Vettel by 34 points in the overall standings with five of the season`s 20 races remaining.

The German suffered successive setbacks at the last two races in Singapore and Malaysia, which Hamilton capitalised on with a win and second-place finish to extend his advantage.