Lewis Hamilton surprised even himself with by taking a superb pole position in tricky conditions at Spa.
Hamilton, who only just scraped into Q3, was the last car across the line as the track began to dry. Belgium is his fourth pole in a row.
“It was obviously a good job by the team,” said Hamilton. “I was so surprised when I crossed the line. When I started the lap I saw on the screen that I was about seventh or eighth and I thought ‘Oh my God’, especially as it was raining more.
“I went wide in Turn One, and the dash display is usually telling you whether you’re up or down, and it said I was three seconds down and then five seconds and six seconds. So I didn’t understand what was happening in the lap, but I just kept pushing.”
Hamilton said he was happy with the form of the W04.
“I think generally I feel quite comfortable in changing conditions, and I feel I’m able to find the limits when the conditions are really on the edge. And in the middle I pushed quite a lot in the middle sector, particularly as I thought I was down three seconds, so I was really caning it. But, yeah, the car’s feeling good.”
Hamilton admitted that Mercedes would not have got pole in normal, dry conditions: “I would be guessing but my guess would be maybe not. The Red Bull was looking particularly quick and also the Ferrari was looking quite quick in the dry conditions, so I’m not necessarily sure that we had the pace to be as fast everyone today. But who knows, it’s just a guess.”
Nevertheless he’s confident that he has a good package for race day.
“I feel that the long pace is not bad. Last night we made some decent changes, but going into qualifying we made some better ones. Qualifying was more about just being there at the right time, and you never know when you’re going to be in the right position. And I just happened to be one of the last ones coming across the line and that’s when the track would be at its best.
“But I think Nico proved that the long run was good, and I think I had a few good laps as well, but the Red Bulls are still pretty quick. I think it’s going to be close but I hear it’s going to rain pretty heavily tomorrow.”
Adam Cooper F1 