NUERBURGRING, Germany -- Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes earned the pole position for Sundays German Grand Prix, edging Red Bulls three-time defending Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel. Hamiltons second consecutive pole and third of the season made up for the disappointment of seeing the second Mercedes driver, Nico Rosberg, knocked down to 11th at the end of the second qualifying session. Hamilton set the fastest qualifying time Saturday of 1 minute, 29.398 seconds. Vettel had dominated the last two practice sessions but ended up .103 seconds behind Hamilton, who gained his 29th career pole after his team overcame problems with the car during the last two practice sessions, which Hamilton called "disasters." "It was even worse this morning. I was a good eight tenths of a second off, and I wasnt comfortable with the car at all," said Hamilton, who has often criticized his car before races. "So we went back into the truck, analyzed everything, put in a lot of hard work ... Its a privilege to drive for this team, theyve great history, so Im proud to be able to get pole for them, but there are no points today. They come tomorrow," Hamilton said. He is still winless since joining Mercedes this season. Mercedes came into the race with fives poles in the previous six GPs but has struggled to maintain the momentum in racing conditions. Hamilton held the pole at the British Grand Prix last week but had an early puncture and finished fourth. Marc Webber in the second Red Bull was third in qualifying, with the Lotus pair of Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean next. Daniel Ricciardo of Toro Rosso was sixth, Felipe Massa of Ferrari seventh and his teammate Fernando Alonso eighth. Rosberg, who won two of the last three races, was sitting second midway through the second qualifying session and his team left him in the garage, apparently believing his time was good enough to put him into the top 10 for the third and decisive session. But Raikkonen led a charge of late efforts and Rosberg watched from the garage as he was eliminated. "It was quite a shock," Rosberg said. "I didnt see it coming ... I thought I would be easily on the front row today." Many leading drivers had threatened to pull out of Sundays race if tire blowouts that plagued last weeks British GP persisted. Supplier Pirelli made changes and the tires have held, reducing the risk of a pullout. Vettel said Pirelli appeared to have done a good job and did not think there would be any reason to pull out of the race. "I am confident there will be no such problems," Vettel said. Vettel said he was struggling "to get it together" in the first sector of the circuit and that the tail wind had been a factor. "It was quite close, and I tried everything I had. But we are much closer to them here than we were in Silverstone. We have made some progress and are confident for tomorrow. "Weve done our homework and now its up to us. We are on the front row, which wasnt quite enough for pole position, but I am looking forward to tomorrow," said Vettel, who is seeking his first win on home soil. Vettel holds a 21-point lead over Alonso in drivers standings after eight of 19 races. Vita Vea Jersey .4 million title. Ryan Riess emerged with the title after a session in which he started behind, but used expert skill to gather the chips to his side amid the unpredictability of no-limit Texas Hold em. Riess put his final opponent Jay Farber all-in with an Ace-King. Mike Evans Buccaneers Jersey . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts. http://www.authenticbuccaneerspro.com/Anthony-nelson-buccaneers-jersey/ . 1, meaning problems for the doping controls at both major international sports events next year. The World Anti-Doping Agency provisionally suspended the Moscow Antidoping Center on Sunday, saying its operations must improve or a six-month ban on the facilitys accreditation will be imposed. Mike Edwards Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. John Lynch Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla.Eliaquim Mangala believes he is proving himself at Manchester City, but says the best is still to come. The defender has faced criticism following his big-money move from Porto in 2014 and admitted that his first season in the Premier League was difficult.However, he has shown signs of improvement, particularly in recent weeks with clean sheets against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. He told Sky Sports: My objective has been to prove myself, to prove that I can do something good. Every single training session and every game I try to improve the way I defend.I know I can do better. This is not my best. The most important thing for me is consistency. To have a good game and then maintain consistency.If I want to prove myself it is on the pitch. If you are good on the pitch that is the reality. Its very important for me and the manager. My objective is to make the manager believe in me because I want to win titles with Man City. Eliaquim Mangala helped Man City keep a clean sheet against PSG Mangala did not start for City in their Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid last week, but sayss: Its very important for every player to be strong mentally.ddddddddddddWhen you dont play it is difficult to accept, which is normal because everybody wants to play every game, but you have to keep working and keep believing.You will have an opportunity to prove the manager and prove to everyone that you are a good player and can play well. You have to be focused and not feel sad. If you go that way it will be difficult because you will not be ready.Before travelling to Spain for the second leg of their semi-final on Wednesday, City travel to Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday. With Manchester United five points behind in fifth and with a game in hand, City are not yet guaranteed a top-four finish in the league.We want to finish as high as possible, says Mangala. If we could finish second it would be amazing but the objective is to win the last three games.We can feel we are playing as a team. We think in the same way and with this mentality we can do something very special for this club.Watch the interview with Mangala on Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports News HQ from midday. Also See: Southampton v Man City preview Paul Mersons predictions Man City fixtures Get a ￡10 free bet! ' ' '