Lewis Hamilton admitted he had to dig down deep during qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix but the fastest lap ever seen around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve saw him take his fourth pole position of the season.
The Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team racer set a lap of 1:11.459s to deny championship leader Sebastian Vettel top spot by 0.330 seconds, with Hamilton taking his sixth pole position in Canada and will be gunning for a sixth win on Sunday from the very front of the field.
“Honestly, I’m so happy,” said Hamilton after qualifying. “Montreal has been very good to me over the years. It was such a close battle with the Ferraris – they have been so quick this weekend.
“I dug down deep… It was a great lap, a sexy lap! I can’t quite believe that it all came together so well. After such a tough time in Monaco, we learned from our mistakes. I owe this one to all the team back at the factories in Brackley and Brixworth.”
The sixty-fifth pole position of Hamilton’s career saw him match the number of poles that his idol Ayrton Senna took during his own career, and the Briton was gifted a race-worn helmet of the Brazilian from his family during the post-qualifying interviews, and he was visibly shaking as he accepted the amazing gift.
“I was just shaking when I was presented with Ayrton’s helmet,” said Hamilton. “For many of you, Ayrton was your favourite driver. He was mine too. To receive this and match his record is a great honour.”