F1 News
Date:
24/August/2013
Lewis Hamilton made its four F1 pole positions in a row after
emerging on top of a thrilling qualifying session for the Belgian Grand Prix at
Spa-Francorchamps.
Rain showers kept the drivers on their toes until the end,
with Force India’s Paul Di Resta holding the advantage until a last-gasp
improvement in conditions saw Mark Webber, then Sebastian Vettel and finally
Hamilton claim pole.
Hamilton, who took his first Mercedes victory just before
the summer break, said: “When I started the lap, I saw on the screen that I was
about seventh or eighth and I thought ‘Oh my God’, especially as it was raining
more.
“Then I went wide in turn one and my dashboard was really
confusing me in terms of whether I was up or down on my previous lap. I pushed
quite a lot in the middle sector particularly as I thought I was down three
seconds. I was really caning it!
“I can’t remember the last time I crossed the line and had
such a good feeling. I was looking for the TV screens and I could see the team
was cheering so I couldn’t believe it. It’s just crazy to think that this is my
31st pole and it still feels like it’s the first one. It’s just an incredible
feeling and I’m very grateful to be here today.”
The Red Bulls had looked especially strong during free
practice, but Hamilton feels he has a fighting chance in the race.
“I think this weekend they’ve both shown incredible pace.
But I’m hoping that whatever the conditions tomorrow we can try to fight it out
with them. I generally feel we’re quite close.
“I still feel the Red Bull is a little bit ahead of us and
that’s why results like this today feel even better, because it feels like we
extracted more than what the car can actually do, so I’m really happy with it.”
Vettel starts round eleven of 19 with a 38-point lead over
Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen, with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso a further point
behind. Raikkonen and Alonso will start eighth and ninth respectively.
Hamilton is nine points behind Alonso in the standings.
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