HAMMY’S SING-ING A MAGIC SONG
READY FOR ACTION: Anthony Joshua trained in front of the cameras ahead of Povetkin fight MAGIC MAN Lewis Hamilton stole the limelight with a brilliant show in qualifying for today’s Singapore Grand Prix.
It was a glowing performance hailed by his Mercedes boss Toto Wolff as one of the best of Hammy’s career.
He said: “It was the most amazing lap I have ever seen. It was memorable. An epic – and I am over the moon.”
Hamilton was almost speechless after his monumental effort to grab his 79th pole position after two days when his Silver Arrow had been well off the pace.
But he put in a faultless 1min 36.015secs lap to take an unexpected – and brilliant – pole.
“Wow! I am overwhelmed,” said four-time world champion Hammy. “That felt just magic. I don’t know where it all came from and I went manic to get it just right against all the odds.
“I can’t begin to explain how much I enjoyed it. The Ferraris were expected to take pole and they had looked favourite in all the free practice sessions But I wasn’t going to give up. And when it most mattered I did the job. And boy, did I enjoy it. It was a mega lap. Now I’ve got to carry it all into the race and I know it will be tough. Ferrari won’t take my triumph lying down.”
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was second on 1min 36.334secs and Ferrari’s champ Vettel, four times the winner in Singapore, adrift more than half a second slower on the tricky and bumpy Marina Bay street circuit.
Former racer and TV commentator David Coulthard, a GP winner 13 times, was just as excited by Hammy’s wonder show and he said: “It was man and machine in perfect harmony. Super and unbelievable. A tribute to Lewis’s fantastic ability – the lap of the season.”
Today’s 191-mile after-dark clash is a torture of a test with humidity at a peak and with car cockpit temperatures soaring to 50 degrees, causing drivers to lose three kilos in weight in their sweatbox cars. “Sitting in the car here in Singapore is a crazy place to be,” he said. “You are sweating off the pounds even before you get behind the wheel.”
Hammy (right) last year’s winner, is confident of a repeat performance in his uprated car and he said: “The boys behind the scenes have done a fantastic job working so hard and giving me a car that is a big improvement. It feels good.”