Hamilton discusses the “unprecedented pressure” of his pole: reactions from the Top 3 in Great Britain!
By his own admission, Lewis Hamilton had never fought so hard to secure pole position in front of his fans. Also discover the reactions of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen, who finished second and third respectively at the end of the qualifying session.
The fight for the championship allows no relaxation. Certainly not on home ground, as Lewis Hamilton notices this weekend at Silverstone. The Briton found a worthy opponent in Sebastian Vettel. Leading in FP1 and FP3 (Vettel was ahead in FP2), the Mercedes driver had been dominated in Q1… before speeding up in Q2, clocking a time of 1:26.256, a solid tenth ahead of the Ferrari.
It was just a stage before Q3, with both drivers breaking the 1:25 barrier. The moment was seized by Lewis Hamilton to assert his dominance, in the first… and the second run. The threat was real, with the provisional best time taken by Vettel. Hamilton delivered his effort in the final lap. At the finish, a slim margin: 44 thousandths, a symbolic number for the Englishman, who describes his emotions onboard his Mercedes:
« It was the most difficult lap I’ve ever had to do! The pressure was beyond what I had experienced before in my career. I had never had such a desire to extract the smallest possible tenth », he said while comparing this pole to his previous five acquired on this track.
« These guys (ed. note: Vettel and Räikkönen) had already put in a great performance in Q2, and I knew we would be up against them. I prayed really hard in the car to go for it. I gave it everything I had! These laps were very tough for me, there was a lot of tension. »
BOOM! It’s SIX #BritishGP 🇬🇧 poles for @LewisHamilton… 👊 #LH44pic.twitter.com/YRG8aVPrPe
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) 7 juillet 2018
Very attached to his audience, Lewis Hamilton concluded by thanking the hundreds of thousands of fans who attended this Grand Prix, the majority of whom were supporters of his cause.
« I am very grateful for their encouragements, because without you, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve it! I don’t think it adds extra rhythm. But of course, there is a psychological element to consider when an athlete competes in front of their fans. » By the way, Lewis Hamilton secures the 76th pole of his career, extending the all-time record even further. He also clinches his 50th pole for Mercedes! A great day for the national hero, who immediately rushed to a TV screen to watch the England team match in the World Cup quarter-finals against Sweden.
GOAL!! 🙌🏴 #WorldCup #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/X69pDweYVx
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) 7 juillet 2018
Just behind him on the grid, the two Ferrari drivers, who therefore fell short by less than a tenth of a second from the grail. Second, Sebastian Vettel was strapped at the neck. The four-time world champion was already suffering during FP3, having completed only six short laps before receiving treatment.
« It didn’t bother me during qualifying », wanted to reassure the Scuderia Ferrari driver at the end of qualifying. Continuing on his performance on the track. « I was very happy with my last lap but we lost time on the straight. I am happy with the second place, it gives us a good chance for tomorrow. »
Third, Kimi Räikkönen had all the tools to be fast. However, Iceman made a mistake in the sixteenth turn, at the beginning of the last sequence. I’m sure there was still some time to gain, but this position is not bad.
Even when threatened, the 2007 world champion maintains a certain consistency: he will start from the same position as he did a week ago at the Red Bull Ring, having benefited from his teammate’s penalty. But this time, Sebastian Vettel will be closer to victory at the start tomorrow. A victory at Silverstone has eluded Ferrari since 2011.
