Lewis swoops to take his pole tally to 66
LEWIS HAMILTON blitzed the Formula One field with a phenomenal last lap to secure pole position for today’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Just as in Canada a fortnight previously, Hamilton made it count when it mattered most to finish nearly half-a-second clear of his team-mate Valtteri Bottas as Mercedes locked out the front row for the second time in as many races.
Hamilton’s championship rival Sebastian Vettel will start only fourth after he was outqualified by his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen.
The 66th pole of his career has moved him above Ayrton Senna and into a standalone second in the all-time list. Indeed Hamilton could match Michael Schumacher’s pole record, of which he is now two short, in front of a capacity crowd at Silverstone for next month’s British Grand Prix.
“I am so pumped with that pole, and that is how qualifying should be,” Hamilton said. “Tomorrow will be a hard race but we are in the best position to start.”
Bottas held the advantage over Hamilton after the Briton made a mistake during his first run in the top-10 shoot-out. But with the odds against him, Hamilton responded in emphatic fashion to take his second consecutive pole.
For Vettel, who holds a 12-point lead over Hamilton in the title race, it has been a difficult weekend. He failed to trouble the time sheets before missing most of final practice with a hydraulic issue.
Although his Ferrari team managed to resolve the failure in time for qualifying, Vettel was only fourth and 1.3 secs slower than Hamilton.
Jolyon Palmer is a man under pressure following his pointless start to the season. The 26-yearold Englishman was ruled out of qualifying after his Renault engine caught fire during the morning’s practice session.
His Renault team were unable to repair the damage caused by the blaze, and Palmer played no part. He will start from the back of the field today.