Hamilton claims pole in Japan

Lewis Hamilton ensured he has the best chance possible of extending his World Championship lead after securing pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver shot to the top of the timesheet late on with a time of one minute 18.404 seconds around the Fuji Speedway circuit.

But there was disaster for Felipe Massa - the Ferrari driver will start fifth on the grid on Sunday.

Kimi Raikkonen finished second with a time of 1:18.644 while Hamilton's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen took third and Singapore Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso fourth for Renault.

"I'm very happy, the team have done a phenomenal job," said a delighted Hamilton. "We will push forward with the strategy we have tomorrow."

Massa, who had started from pole in Singapore before a pit-stop blunder ended his chances in the race, could only manage a time of 1:18.874 and faces an uphill challenge to deny Hamilton edging closer to the title.

BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, who had gone fastest in practice earlier on Saturday, will start sixth while Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock gave Toyota a boost in their home race by claiming seventh and eighth respectively.

Toro Rosso pair Sebastien Vettel and Sebastien Bourdais round out the top 10.