LEWIS’ LUCK IN AS FERRARI FAIL
LEWIS HAMILTON admitted even he didn’t know how he’d secured pole position for today’s German Grand Prix.
Runaway championship leader Hamilton benefited after a double mechanical blow rocked Ferrari.
The Italian team had been fastest in practice at Hockenheim but an engine problem prevented Sebastian Vettel from setting a lap time.
And to make matters worse, a fuel-system issue then hit Leclerc’s car and he was unable to take part in the top-10 shoot-out.
Vettel’s nightmare run continued and the German will start his home race from the back of the grid while teammate Leclerc is in 10th.
Hamilton, who had struggled for pace all weekend but took pole by 0.346 seconds, said: “I don’t know how we did it.
“I am not sure what happened to the Ferrari’s. This is a second home grand prix for us so it is incredible to celebrate with this.
“Ferrari have been really fast, and they were on another level, but the time at the end would have been close to compete with Leclerc if he had set a lap.”
The British driver will be joined on the front row by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen while Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas starts from third.
But the story of the day was the latest in a series of issues for Ferrari, who have failed again to capitalise on what appeared to be a clear advantage.
Their season has been hit by reliability, operational or driver errors as they watch Hamilton seize control of the title race.
On a poor weekend for Lando Norris, the Brit was eliminated from Q1 for the first-ever time.
The 19-year-old, who has been second-best to Carlos Sainz in the sister McLaren throughout practice, finished 16th.
British rookie George Russell out-qualified Robert Kubica for a 11th consecutive time and starts from 18th.