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The Briton flew around the lakeside circuit in
a record one minute, 21.164 seconds, with his final effort
leaving a yawning gap of 0.664 seconds to Ferrari's second
fastest Kimi Raikkonen.
Sebastian Vettel was third fastest for Ferrari but Hamilton was
in a class of his own and the Silver Arrows appear as dominant
as ever as they bid to sweep the driver and constructors' titles
for a fifth year running.
"That was intense. My heart's racing. I wish you could feel it
right now," the 33-year-old Hamilton said after clambering onto
his car at the finish and pumping his fists.
"I'm so happy with that lap."
Hamilton moved past the six poles his idol Ayrton Senna claimed
in the Australian race with a furious pace that will leave the
Ferrari and Red Bull teams scratching their heads.
"Obviously the gap's bigger than we want it to be," a subdued
Vettel told reporters, looking ahead to Sunday's race.
"It depends how we get off the (start) line."
Red Bull wunderkind Max Verstappen will line up alongside Vettel
on the second row, with his fifth-fastest team mate Daniel
Ricciardo set to start eighth after the home hope was handed a
three-place grid penalty for an infringement during Friday
practice.
Still pumped at the post-qualifying news conference, Hamilton
made a cheeky dig at fellow four-times champion Vettel when the
German asked him what he was up to before Q3.
"I was waiting to put a good lap in and wipe the smile off your
face," Hamilton said with a smirk.
IMPROVED HAAS
The Briton's brilliance was not matched by team mate Valtteri
Bottas, who crashed early in the final shootout.
The Finn, who had complained of balance problems during Q1, spun
out at turn two and smashed hard into a barrier, leaving his
wrecked car and debris scattered all over the track.
The red flag was waved as the television broadcast showed
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff bowing his head in disappointment back
in the team garage.
Bottas, who will start in 10th, passed a medical check but it
remains unclear how much of his car is salvageable.
Haas confirmed themselves as the big improvers after positive
winter testing, with drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean
locking down the third row.
Renault's Nico Hulkenberg took a spin into the gravel in Q2 but
scraped through to the final session and will start seventh, his
team mate Carlos Sainz two places behind.
McLaren's hopes of a quick return to the top four with their new
Renault engines proved overly ambitious, with twice champion
Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne shut out of the final
session.
Force India, fourth in the constructors' championship for the
last two years, also have work to do after being knocked out
during Q2.
The championship's debutant drivers had an underwhelming
session, with Sauber's Charles Leclerc and Williams' driver
Sergey Sirotkin eliminated early.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by John O'Brien)[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
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