Mercedes: Hamilton already assured of being the best poleman this season

By securing his sixth consecutive pole position this Saturday, Lewis Hamilton has repeated a performance that hadn’t been achieved since Michael Schumacher in 2000/2001: it’s a testament to how well the double world champion is mastering his craft at the moment. “I’m really happy with the team’s performance and the car this weekend,” the Englishman said proudly. “It can be difficult to find the ideal setup and maintain a good rhythm on this track, but I felt comfortable throughout. Luckily for me, I was able to put in my two best laps at the very end.”

Lewis Hamilton also admitted to never having felt like he drove as well at Spa: a sentiment corroborated by Niki Lauda, who called his driver’s time incredible, especially in the second sector, the most winding. In qualifying, against Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton is leading 10 to 1 this season. He is already assured of winning the best poleman trophy at the end of the season.

Relegated to more than four-tenths back, Nico Rosberg, who was unable to regain his form from the previous day, still knows that victory is still within reach since he will also start on the front row: « The qualification went well until towards the end. But in Q3, Lewis simply found a lot of time, which I unfortunately wasn’t able to do. So it’s a disappointing day, but there are still many stakes for the race. I need a good start and, after Eau Rouge, there should be a good chance to overtake until the end of the long straight. »

We remember that Spa-Francorchamps was the scene last year of the clash between the two Mercedes drivers, at the end of the famous Kemmel Straight. We will see if the two drivers have learned from this painful episode in their relationship…