Mexico City, Oct 30 (IANS) English Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton secured pole position at the Mexican Grand Prix, beating out German teammate and Formula One drivers' championship standings leader Nico Rosberg for the top spot on the grid.
Hamilton, the two-time defending F1 drivers' champion, snagged pole position for the 59th time in his career here on Saturday, leaving him just nine short of German legend Michael Schumacher's record, reports Efe.
Hamilton posted a time of 1:18.704 in Saturday's third and final round of qualifying at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, while Rosberg had the second-best lap time of 1:18.958.
Rosberg leads the drivers' championship standings with 331 points with three races to go in the 2016 F1 season, while the second-place Hamilton is 26 points behind.
Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Daniel Ricciardo of Australia, who is third in the standings but far out of contention, will start on the second row.
Spanish drivers Carlos Sainz Jr. (Toro Rosso) and Fernando Alonso (McLaren) will start 10th and 11th, respectively.
--IANS
ajb/vt
