Hamilton on track in Belgium for record-tying 68th pole
Lewis SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, BELGIUM Hamilton increased the pace on quicker tires and posted the fastest time in the second practice session Friday for the Belgian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver was second quickest behind Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen in the morning practice, but that was with Raikkonen on ultra softs and Hamilton on the slightly slower softs.
With both on ultra softs, Hamilton showed extra pace, clocking .262 seconds clear of Raikkonen and .427 ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.
“The car felt strong straight out of the box,” said Hamilton, who has won four races this season.
Mercedes upgraded the engines on both cars, its fourth specification change on the power unit. Any further changes this season will incur penalties.
Ferrari has kept its third engine and has another permitted change remaining over the eight races following Belgium.
“We made some good steps with the setup right from the start of (the first practice session), which is a really encouraging way to kick off the weekend,” Hamilton said.
In a further boost for Hamilton, championship leader Sebastian Vettel was only fifth behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the second practice. The third practice is on Saturday morning followed by qualifying, where Hamilton looks to equal F1 great Michael Schumacher’s pole position record of 68.
Vettel leads Hamilton in the championship standings by 14 points.