Hamilton continues to make history in Baku qualifying
Lewis Hamilton took the 66th pole position of his career and the first in Baku. In the final seconds of the session, he snatched first place from his team-mate Valtteri Bottas. The first Ferrari driver was none other than Kimi Räikkönen, in third place.
In retreat during the first two practice sessions, the Mercedes found a renewed vitality, as almost always, to climb to the top of the timesheets at the start of the session. The triple world champion took the lead from Q1. Only Valtteri Bottas came to challenge the Briton during the first timed lap in Q3. Incidentally, it’s Mercedes’ second front row of the season.
Lewis Hamilton => 1st (1:40.593)
The current second in the Championship, 12 points behind Sebastian Vettel, secured the 66th pole position of his career after having equaled Ayrton Senna’s record in Canada. He is now only two away from the absolute record held by Michael Schumacher. Far away is the memory of last year on this same track, where he could only start from the 10th position. Furthermore, he improved Nico Rosberg’s 2016 pole time (1:42.758) by more than two seconds.
Lewis Hamilton was therefore thrilled at the end of this session, especially as he pushed his own teammate, who was temporarily in provisional pole, back by more than four-tenths and Räikkönen’s Ferrari by more than a second.
« It was one of the most thrilling laps I’ve experienced this season so far. In the first lap, I had the time, but I made a mistake in the final sector. (Valtteri Bottas had gained four-tenths on him in that sector). »
Just like the rest of the drivers, the problem on this track remains getting the tires up to temperature, and the Briton did not escape it: « It was difficult to maintain an ideal temperature with the tires. It was all or nothing. As the lap progressed, it got better and better. »
Despite a time at the finish under a minute forty-one, Lewis Hamilton had to work until the end of the session because his teammate was determined to challenge him for pole position: « I saw that Valtteri (Bottas) was ahead, but I knew I was having a good lap. Coming out of the last corner, I thought: I hope it’s enough. So I’m really happy. »
Valtteri Bottas => 2nd (1:41.027)
On the Finnish side, the grin was different when stepping out of his single-seater. Valtteri Bottas, after setting the fastest time during the third free practice, could legitimately aim for a second pole position this season. His first words were therefore filled with disappointment: « It’s naturally disappointing when you can aim for the pole. Moreover, the last lap wasn’t entirely perfect. »
Just like his teammate mentioned, keeping the tires at the right temperature seems to be a challenging task. The former Williams driver experienced it firsthand: « I was struggling with the temperatures of my front left tire. »
Nevertheless, he sees the bright side: « It’s disappointing, but second place is not a bad thing. »
Kimi Räikkönen => 3rd (1:41.693)
Still struggling with tire difficulties, particularly on this track, Kimi Räikkönen managed to climb to the third position. The 2007 Champion had inserted himself between the two Mercedes during the third free practice session.
« It’s much better than where I was before (during the first timed lap). It’s difficult to make the tires work here, much more delicate today than yesterday. But fortunately, I felt a bit better with the second set of tires. »
Despite a gap of more than a second on Hamilton’s Mercedes and seven-tenths on Valtteri Bottas, the Finn remains relatively confident for the race: « I think we are relatively close to the Mercedes, but it will all depend on the ability to get the tires to work well or not. It’s always easier in the race, so it should be a bit better. »
