Lewis Hamilton delivered one of his greatest qualifying laps to turn the tables on Ferrari and claim pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix, and with it match Ayrton Senna’s record of top spot starts.
With Ferrari enjoying the upper-hand in the final free practice session in the morning, Hamilton showed his true worth as he dug deep to dethrone pace setter Sebastian Vettel with his final two flying laps.
His first lap in Q3 was good, but his run second was simply sensational and in the end three tenths faster than Vettel, notably half a second up on his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas who was third quickest.
The time of 1:11.459 astounded everyone in the paddock and in the grandstands who cheered enthusiastically, and it was a fitting way for Hamilton to match his idol. A lap that even surprised his own team and worthy of matching Senna’s long standing record.
Hamilton said afterwards, “You fans are the ones that make this Grand Prix special for us. Montreal has been good to me down the years. It was a close battle but I was gunning and pushing. Luckily I got the good lap.”
“It was a sexy lap. A great lap. The team did great to learn from our mistakes in the last race. I owe this to the team,” acknowledged Hamilton.
At the end of the session, while speaking to fans at Turn 1, an emotional Hamilton was presented with a Senna worn helmet for matching the great Brazilian’s 65 career pole positions in Formula 1 – a gesture by the Brazilian legend’s family.
On receiving the yellow helmet in a glass case, Hamilton said, “I am shaking. I am speechless. Ayrton was my favourite driver. He inspired me to be where I am today. To receive this is a great honour. Thank you to the Senna family.”
The Reds were caught flat footed by Hamilton’s mega-lap, while Vettel scuppered the couple of chances he had and the team timed his runs badly as he was only availed a one lap run in the final minutes of Q3, while Hamilton had the luxury of two flyers at the very end.
Nevertheless second place on the grid means that Vettel still has a very real chance of victory but, more importantly, fans have the prospect of another intriguing Vettel versus Hamilton battle.
Vettel said, “We have the pace. I am not so happy with my last run in qualifying. I probably pushed a little too hard.”
Report in progress…
Canadian Grand Prix, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve – Qualifying, Best Lap Times
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 1:12.692 | 1:12.496 | 1:11.459 | 21 |
| 2 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | FERRARI | 1:13.046 | 1:12.749 | 1:11.789 | 21 |
| 3 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | MERCEDES | 1:12.685 | 1:12.563 | 1:12.177 | 20 |
| 4 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | FERRARI | 1:13.548 | 1:12.580 | 1:12.252 | 23 |
| 5 | 33 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER | 1:13.177 | 1:12.751 | 1:12.403 | 26 |
| 6 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER | 1:13.543 | 1:12.810 | 1:12.557 | 28 |
| 7 | 19 | Felipe Massa | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:13.435 | 1:13.012 | 1:12.858 | 27 |
| 8 | 11 | Sergio Perez | FORCE INDIA MERCEDES | 1:13.470 | 1:13.262 | 1:13.018 | 22 |
| 9 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | FORCE INDIA MERCEDES | 1:13.520 | 1:13.320 | 1:13.135 | 22 |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | RENAULT | 1:13.804 | 1:13.406 | 1:13.271 | 24 |
| 11 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | TORO ROSSO | 1:13.802 | 1:13.690 | 18 | |
| 12 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | MCLAREN HONDA | 1:13.669 | 1:13.693 | 18 | |
| 13 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | TORO ROSSO | 1:14.051 | 1:13.756 | 19 | |
| 14 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | HAAS FERRARI | 1:13.780 | 1:13.839 | 21 | |
| 15 | 30 | Jolyon Palmer | RENAULT | 1:13.990 | 1:14.293 | 20 | |
| 16 | 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | MCLAREN HONDA | 1:14.182 | 11 | ||
| 17 | 18 | Lance Stroll | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:14.209 | 14 | ||
| 18 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 1:14.318 | 11 | ||
| 19 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | SAUBER FERRARI | 1:14.495 | 11 | ||
| 20 | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | SAUBER FERRARI | 1:14.810 | 10 |
Q1 107% Time – 1:17.772
Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247
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