Austrian Grand Prix 2016: Lewis Hamilton delighted with pole after dramatic qualifying session

Wet conditions brought an unpredictable climax at Spielberg

Hamilton's Mercedes on the track at Spielberg (Getty)

Lewis Hamilton has vowed to seize the initiative at his "weakest" race of the year after claiming a dramatic pole position for Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.

A deluge of rain moments before the final phase of qualifying at the Red Bull Ring contributed to one of the most dramatic and unpredictable top-10 shoot-outs in recent years.

But the changeable conditions suited triple world champion Hamilton to a tee as he finished nearly half-a-second clear of his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Championship leader Rosberg, a winner here in Spielberg in each of the previous two seasons, will be demoted to seventh after he was forced to change his gearbox following a dramatic crash in final practice.

Force India's Nico Hulkenberg will start alongside Hamilton on the front row while Jenson Button sealed a sensational third - his highest grid slot in nearly two years.

"Nico is very quick here and it feels like one of his strongest tracks and my weakest, so considering I am on pole I am super happy with that," said Hamilton.

"You want the team to be up there, but there is an opportunity, and I will try and do the best I can with it."


 Hamilton's Mercedes on the track at Spielberg 
 (Getty)

Hamilton trails Rosberg by 24 points, but he will be expected to dramatically reduce the gap to his team-mate ahead of next Sunday's British Grand Prix given their respective positions on the grid.

But a cautious Hamilton added: "I am only trying to think about my job. I want to get the best start because I have had some crap starts. That is where my mind is now and I don't care about anyone else.

"Just focus on your job and what will be will be. Whether they fall further back or progress, the most important thing is that I do my job.

"There is no point wishing or hoping someone else does something else. I want to win, and all my energy and 100 per cent of my thought process is on that."

Aside from Hamilton's heroics, much has been made of the new kerbing introduced at the recently resurfaced Red Bull Ring.

The theory is that it will deter drivers, who have been exceeding track limits in a bid to post a faster lap, but they have also contributed to a number of suspension failures this weekend.

 It feels like one of [Rosberg's] strongest tracks and my weakest, so considering I am on pole I am super happy with that

&#13; <p>Lewis Hamilton</p>&#13;

Indeed Daniil Kvyat was the latest victim to fall foul of the so-called sausage kerbs, painted in yellow, after he crashed in qualifying.

Hamilton's Mercedes boss Toto Wolff confirmed his team are in discussions with the FIA, the sport's governing body, amid concerns another issue could lead to a big accident.

"The kerbs are definitely causing failures one way or another," Hamilton added. "I agree with the direction the FIA have gone, but the problem is that a suspension failure turns the wheel in and sends you off in a different direction, sometimes aggressively."

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel will start from ninth after he too served a five-place grid drop for an unscheduled gearbox change. Kimi Raikkonen has been promoted to fourth with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo fifth.

Button's McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso starts only 14th while Britain's Jolyon Palmer will be 18th on the grid.