Rookie speeds to Indy pole

INDIANAPOLIS – For good measure, Lewis Hamilton knocked his own best lap time off the pole in Formula One qualifying Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Already assured of the No. 1 starting position for today’s U.S. Grand Prix, the 22-year-old rookie phenom completed his final lap – as the session ended – for fun and the record books. It was 0.054 seconds quicker than his previous best lap, surprising even himself.

“I didn’t expect to be on pole,” he said. “I thought (McLaren-Mercedes teammate Fernando) Alonso would be quicker, but obviously not.”

Hamilton earned the second F-1 pole of his career, both in the past week. He won the first in Montreal en route to capturing his first race in the series, the Canadian Grand Prix.

Now, Hamilton is on a roll.

The Grand Prix driver who has started on the pole in 2007 has won five of the six races. Hamilton, who is racing in the United States for the first time, thinks he can keep that trend alive.

“Experience is everything here (at Indy), and the more and more I get out on the track the better I get,” he said.

Alonso figured to be the one to capitalize on his Speedway experience. Competing on the 2.6-mile circuit for the sixth time, the world champion of the past two seasons led every session of practice and qualifying but the final one.

Hamilton’s best lap in the final sequence was 1 minute, 12.331 seconds. His next-to-last lap was 1:12.385, giving him the two best laps of the session.

The 73-lap event is the seventh of F-1’s season and the eighth at the Speedway.