Lewis Hamilton, the Formula One racing driver, managed to get the best of prevalent track conditions to finish first in the qualifying race at the Belgian Grand Prix. Hamilton successfully bettered his competitors to gain the crucial pole position for the race. The driver, after earning pole position, remarked that Red Bull still had an edge over Mercedes. Adding further, he also said that he was able to extract more out of the car on the track. His point eventually got proven correct as Sebastian Vettel extended his lead at the top by winning the race while Hamilton finished third.
The British driver looked a bit drenched during the initial phase of the qualifying race, but managed to hold on to his nerves to win the pole position. Hailing his achievement, the racer said, “It was obviously a good job by the team but I was just so surprised when I came across the line. When I started the lap I saw on the screen that I was about seventh or eighth and I was like 'Oh my God' - especially as it was raining more. I went wide at Turn 1 and my dash display - which normally tells you if you're up or down - and it said I was three seconds down, and then five seconds and six seconds, so I didn't understand what was going on during the lap but I just kept pushing. I could see I was catching Sebastian towards the end but what a blessing, I feel so fortunate to be up here.”
During the practice session at Spa, Mercedes looked slightly off the usual pace but Hamilton's die hard spirit proved critical as he squashed out the lowest lap timing and finished ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. The Formula One driver admitted that even though he did not have the quickest car to go with, he was able to squeeze more out of it. Post the finish, the Formula One driver reportedly commented, “I think this weekend [the Red Bulls have] both shown that they have incredible pace, but I'm hoping that whatever the conditions are tomorrow we can try to fight it out with them. The guys have done a fantastic job bringing a good package here and I generally feel that we're quite close. I still feel the Red Bull is a little bit ahead of us in performance and that's why results like this today feel even better because we feel like we've extracted more than what the car can actually do so I'm really happy with it.”
Regarding getting the pole position for the final race, the Hamilton said that he was quite surprised to find himself at the top. Rejoicing his pole position, the racer praised the team's effort but also claimed that he was virtually gaping after crossing the line. Initially, when the lap started, the weather was not quite good. It was raining and the screen showed he was about seventh or eighth. The dash display showed a lag of three seconds, five seconds and then six seconds but the driver kept on pushing harder. As a result, he was able to catch up with current world champion Vettel and ultimately got the pole position.
After putting up a good show, Hamilton said that he felt pretty comfortable in challenging situations. He had pushed quite a bit during his middle sector and his car was not that bad. Getting the advantage of the pole position in a championship race had its own importance and Hamilton did not shy away from admitting it in public.
