Formula 1: Hamilton leads McLaren sweep of front row at Indy

Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Rookie Lewis Hamilton captured the pole for Sunday's United States Grand Prix at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The No.2 McLaren Mercedes driver circled the 2.605-mile,13-turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in one minute, 12.331 seconds.

The pole win was Hamilton's second in a row and second of the season.

"I'm quite surprised, to be honest," said Hamilton. "Going into qualifying we hadn't really found the best, the optimal setup and I knew Fernando (Alonso) was extremely quick here."

Starting on the front row with Hamilton will be his teammate Fernando Alonso, the two-time World Champion, who posted a second-best time of 1:12.500.

Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa (1:12.703) and Kimi Raikkonen (1:12.839) will make up row two.

Sebastien Vettel, in the 19-year-old's first career start, qualified seventh quickest. He is substituting for the injured Robert Kubica who suffered a concussion and sprained ankle in last Sunday's race in Montreal.

Alonso won the first qualifying session which saw the only American driver in the field, Scott Speed, among six drivers who were eliminated.

Alonso also won the second session edging his McLaren teammate Hamilton. The six drivers dropped after the second session were: David Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher, Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg, Rubens Barrichello and Anthony Davidson.

But in the all-important final 15-minute session Hamilton put up a quick time and then improved on it on the final lap to guarantee the pole.