Lewis Hamilton’s 64th career pole was secured by the smallest of margins; only 0.051s separated the Brit from championship rival Sebastian Vettel.
Though Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team came out on top, there is little doubt that it was far from decisive. Both Mercedes and Scuderia Ferrari seem to have made a step forward with their new upgrades, and on the day it was Mercedes who had the cleanest lap.
“That was a really intense qualifying,” he said. “We had to pull out every millisecond we could to take pole.
“We made some changes ahead of qualifying and the car felt great, so I was very happy with it.”
Hamilton is a driver who is quick to air his thanks to the entire team, especially those at the factory who devote their days to innovate and improve, and make the wins a possibility.
He has again spoken of his gratitude and vows to make the most of the updates on Sunday, and secure the best possible result in their honour.
“The race pace is looking good and the team has done an incredible job this weekend, as always,” he continued. “I don’t know if the guys back at the factory get tired of hearing this, but they’ve done an incredible job.
“To make this step forward and bring a great package for this weekend to keep us in the fight with the Ferrari, I’m so grateful to them.
“We’ll work as hard as we can on Sunday so that effort doesn’t go to waste.“
