Lewis leaves it late to grab dramatic pole
LEWIS HAMILTON grabbed a sensational pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix folowing a chaotic qualifying session spiced up by rain.
The fickle nature of the Ardennes track made for an enthralling final 10 minutes as at one stage it appeared Scotland’s Paul Di Resta would be on pole.
But as the rain eased in the dying stages over the Spa-Francorchamps circuit and a dry line appeared, the Scot dropped to fifth in his Force India.
In the final 30 seconds, Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg, then Red Bull’s Mark Webber and team-mate Sebastian Vettel were all on pole, only to be deposed by last man over the line Hamilton in his Mercedes.
For the fourth successive race Hamilton will lead away the field, the first time since Damon Hill in 1995 a Briton has achieved such a feat.
It is also the 31st pole of his F1 career, elevating him to seventh on the all-time list, just one behind another world champion Briton in Nigel Mansell.
Hamilton will have the Red Bulls behind him in Vettel and Webber, followed by Rosberg and Di Resta as Force India at least played a blinder for the Scot in the closing session.
The last 10 minutes started with rain falling, and with nine drivers venturing out on slicks in a bid to beat the weather, only for it to become apparent they would have to switch to the intermediate wet tyres.
Di Resta, however, was the only one who started off on the inters, and for the majority of the session he was on provisional pole.
But the rain did not last long enough for the Scot who looked on from his car as he tumbled to fifth, albeit still his best qualifying run, just four weeks after his worst in Hungary.
McLaren’s Jenson Button joins Di Resta on row three, followed by the Lotus of Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen, whilst the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa start ninth and 10th.
Hamilton was naturally wearing a broad smile afterwards, perhaps realising his good fortune after his
car had not appeared that strong in practice. He said: “When I started that last lap I thought ‘Oh my God!’ as I was seventh or eighth and about three seconds down.
“I ran slightly wide at the first corner and I dropped to five, six seconds back, so I didn’t know what was going on.
“I pushed through the middle sector and really caned it. I feel so fortunate to get pole.”
Hamilton realises, however, he may have a hard job keeping the Red Bull duo behind him in the race, adding: “This weekend they’ve shown incredible pace.
“But the guys have done a fantastic job to bring the right package here, and we’ll just do what we can in the race.”
As for Di Resta, it was a case of oh-so-near as he said: “I thought the rain was going to stay.
“I saw umbrellas coming up so I made the right choice. It was the right time, but our car is not that quick in the wet.
“It was unfortunate, but P5 is not so bad. In the dry, we’re looking good for the race. If it’s wet, I’d be a bit more nervous.”