Formula One: Canadian Stroll celebrates first pole after COVID battle
A rare sight in Formula One qualifying saw record-breaking Lewis Hamilton struggle and Canadian Lance Stroll tame a treacherous track to claim his first pole position on Saturday.
Not only did Hamilton miss out on a 98th career pole, the championship leader qualified sixth at the Turkish Grand Prix as his Mercedes skidded around on a resurfaced and rain-soaked circuit not used in F1 since 2011.
“The track feels terrible. It’s just like driving on ice,” he said. “This whole weekend has been a nightmare, the grip’s so poor.”
Mercedes is so dominant that Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas combined were the fastest qualifiers in the previous 13 races. This time, Bottas was ninth.
The day belonged to Montreal’s Stroll, a much-criticized driver because his billionaire father owns the Racing Point team and after poor recent form. Since the second podium finish of his career at the Italian GP in early September, he has failed to finish three straight races and placed 13th in the other.
“It’s such a great way to bounce back after a few rough weeks,” said Stroll, who recovered from the coronavirus last month. “I haven’t scored a point since my podium in Monza. It’s been a rough run, with incidents and COVID. So much has been going on.”
The Canadian driver showed his ability in the wet by qualifying three-tenths of a second faster than Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and 1.56 ahead of Racing Point teammate Sergio Perez.
“A special moment for me,” Stroll said. “The highlight of my career.”
His jubilation was evident as he threw himself into the arms of engineers and mechanics, then clenched his fist as he grabbed a Canadian flag with his other hand.
“I can’t really put it into words. I’m shocked,” Stroll said. “I nailed pretty much every corner and put it together.”
Verstappen looked certain to take the pole after topping the first two qualifying sessions and had the leading time in Q3 when his team aborted the lap to switch from wet to intermediate tires. The move backfired and Verstappen was angry, using an expletive over the team radio to describe the tires.
“We should have been doing better switching to that tire. We definitely missed something there,” Verstappen said. “When you are first all the time, and come out second, it’s not what you want to do.”
Hamilton was also in a foul mood after qualifying.
“Going into the wet today made it even harder,” Hamilton said. “I like being in the wet, but here the tires aren’t working … 10 times worse in terms of grip than anywhere else.”
While it will be tough for Hamilton to clinch a record-extending 94th win on Sunday, he only needs to finish ahead of Bottas to clinch his seventh F1 title and equal Michael Schumacher’s record.