Out of this world
‘Space geek’ Hamilton operating on another plane
AUSTIN ( Texas): Lewis Hamilton rocketed to pole position at what could be a title-deciding US Grand Prix before enthusing about space travel and the possibility of one day going into orbit.
“I would go immediately. I would go tomorrow,” the Briton, who is on the brink of securing his fourth Formula One world championship, told reporters on Saturday when asked about a space trip.
“No, I really, really would love to go.
“I know someone that has gone up. It was quite expensive so I don’t know how that’s going to happen. If I win the lottery then definitely, I’m going to go,” added the man whose private worth is estimated to be in the many tens of millions.
Joking aside, the self-confessed “space geek” who visited NASA’s Houston training facility earlier in the week has been operating on another plane for some time already on the racetrack.
Since the August break, he has won four of five races while Saturday’s pole was his 11th out of 17 in 2017.
At the same time, Ferrari’s challenge has imploded and Sebastian Vettel, his closest rival, is now 59 points behind with 100 left to play for.
Hamilton smashed the Circuit of the Americas track record on his way to an unprecedented 72nd career pole and 117th front row start, and the Mercedes driver dominated every phase of qualifying.
His pole position time last year was 1:34.999, a track record at the time. This year, he came close to breaking the 1.32 barrier with a time of 1:33.108.
“It’s just unbelievable to watch,” said 1996 world champion and compatriot Damon Hill.
Hamilton has won four of the previous five races in Austin.
Meanwhile, Australian Daniel Ricciardo qualified fourth for Red Bull ahead of Finn Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari and Max Verstappen in the second Red Bull, but the Dutchman will start from the back of the grid after being given a 15-place penalty for taking new power unit parts.
“It’s easy to say now that I should have been up there, but if you make two reasonably big mistakes, it’s not what you want,” said Verstappen, disappointed with his performance 24 hours after the team had confirmed he had signed a new contract.
“I’m not happy with myself – and it’s one of the worst qualifyings of the year for me.”
Frenchman Esteban Ocon qualified seventh for Force India ahead of an impressive Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard making his debut with Renault after moving from Toro Rosso.
Fellow Spaniard and two-time champion Fernando Alonso of McLaren Honda was ninth and Mexican Sergio Perez 10th in the second Force India. — Agencies