Hamilton grabs pole in rain-hit F1 qualifying

Lewis Hamilton of team Mercedes AMG Petronas (centre) with second placing Sebastian Vettel of team Scuderia Ferrari and Nico Rosberg after the qualifying session at Sepang F1 circuit Saturday. - S.S.KANESAN / The Star

SEPANG: World champion Lewis Hamilton held off Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel to claim pole position for Mercedes in the rain-affected Petronas Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix qualifying at the Sepang International Circuit.

The final qualifying session (Q3) was delayed for 30 minutes due to rain, which came half-way through Q2 (second qualifying session).