Lewis Hamilton stormed to Azerbaijan Grand Prix pole, as Valtteri Bottas completed a front-row lockout.
That was Lewis’ 66th career pole position, which moved him into second on the all-time list. Michael Schumacher holds the record with 68 pole positions.
Hamilton completed a single run in both Q1 and Q2, then two runs in Q3 – all on the supersoft.
“My pole lap in Montreal was pretty special, but I think this one here tops that”, Hamilton said.
“My first run in Q3 was actually really good, but I was a bit greedy into the last corner, locked up and cost myself time. After the red flag, there was a lot of pressure on that final lap.”
“All weekend we’ve struggled to switch the car on over a single lap, but it was an all or nothing moment so I just gave it everything I had. Valtteri was on a great lap as well, so when I came across the line and saw that I had pole, it was such a good feeling. Even if that time had only been enough for P2 it was a lap to be proud of. We were struggling yesterday but we made a lot of changes overnight. A big thank you to the team who stayed late last night to get the car to where it is today – they did a fantastic job.”
RECORD CHASER: @LewisHamilton takes pole position at the #AzerbaijanGP, moving two behind Michael Schumacher’s all-time record ?? ? pic.twitter.com/QRqppfy45G
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 24, 2017
“My pole lap in Montreal was pretty special, but I think this one here tops that”, Hamilton said
Bottas added:
“It’s disappointing to lose pole as that was the target today. It was looking good before the late red flag. But Lewis produced a great lap and mine just wasn’t good enough. That final run in Q3 was the first time we had tried to do a flying lap on the first lap, because of the temperatures. I couldn’t get them to work as well as Lewis did – I just couldn’t find that grip out there.”
“But what I’m most proud of today is the huge effort the team put in overnight to switch on the car. We were quite lost on Friday but we made some changes and turned the weekend around. Going into the race we have a fantastic starting position and I’m expecting a good fight with Lewis.”
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF #QUALI) @LewisHamilton in a class of his own today ? #AzerbaijanGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/IGX8Irs8zR
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 24, 2017
