Formula 1

Lewis Hamilton: “It wasn’t the cleanest qualifying session”

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Lewis Hamilton - Credit: Mercedes AMG PETRONA Formula One Team

Lewis Hamilton stormed to his sixth pole position of 2016 at his home Grand Prix at Silverstone despite having his first fast lap in Q3 deleted due exceeding track limits at Copse Corner.

The Mercedes AMG PETRONAS still had enough in the bag to come back out on track and set another time good enough for top spot, denying team-mate Nico Rosberg by 0.319 seconds in a dominant session for the German outfit.

Hamilton feels Sunday’s British Grand Prix will be a tough one, especially in the battle with his championship leading team-mate, but feels the long run pace of his W07 Hybrid should ensure he is fighting for his fourth Silverstone victory.

“It wasn’t the cleanest qualifying session,” said Hamilton. “We had great pace all the way through – but I ran a bit wide on my first Q3 lap and had that time taken away.

“I just touched the kerb and it really pulled me out there. I didn’t even feel like I was going to be running wide until the car bottomed out and I just bounced outside the line, so then there was a lot of pressure on my final lap.

“I was just sitting there in the garage thinking “I can’t let these guys down”. The second lap didn’t feel quite as good but I was a bit more cautious – making sure I got the lap on the board. I’m grateful that I managed it and grateful to the team too for all their hard work in giving us the performance we have this weekend.

“Tomorrow will be a tough race, as always, and it’s important we do our due diligence tonight and tomorrow morning to make sure we’re on top of tyres, strategy and so on.

“But my long run pace yesterday was strong and I feel like I’ve got the car in a good place underneath me in terms of balance for the race. I can’t wait to see everyone out there again tomorrow!”

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