Canadian Grand Prix: Hamilton achieves magical pole number 65By: S. Harding, Xiro Xone News June 10, 2017 Updated: 9:55 PM
Photo: Mercedes AMG Petronas
MONTREAL, Canada -- Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was able to mark another incredible milestone in his historic career by taking his 65th career pole position and equaling his hero and idol Ayrton Senna in Saturday’s qualifying at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
"I dug down deep… It was a great lap, a sexy lap! I can't quite believe that it all came together so well. After such a tough time in Monaco, we learned from our mistakes. I owe this one to all the team back at the factories in Brackley and Brixworth," Hamilton said. In honor of his achievement, Hamilton lost with Senna's 1987 helmet by the Senna family. The replica presented to him on Saturday will serve as a substitute as the real helmet, which holds great value, will be given to him a later date. Nevertheless, this still shows the love and respect Hamilton has earned from the Senna Family.
"I was just shaking when I was presented with Ayrton’s helmet. For many of you, Ayrton was your favorite driver. He was mine too. To receive this and match his record is a great honor."
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who continues to give Hamilton the fight of his life, finished second and was 0.330s behind Hamilton. Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas took third and was 0.7s behind his teammate while Vettel's teammate Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth on the grid after struggling to find a rhythm. Red Bull's Max Verstappen qualified fifth ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo in sixth by 0.154s. Williams' Felipe Massa finished seventh ahead of the Force India's of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon in eighth and ninth while Renault's Nico Hulkenberg took tenth. Daniil Kvyat, the "Game of Thrones" watcher, finished 11th after suffering heavy damage on his right rear tire. McLaren-Honda's Fernando Alonso qualified 12th but felt the car had loss power from the previous session. “I don’t think P11 is a bad starting position for tomorrow. It’s just a shame that we lost about three minutes at the FIA bridge, as the car got stuck in first gear, which was very frustrating! Because of this, I was only able to do one lap in my final attempt and the tires were still too cold; I also got a puncture as I sadly kissed the wall… Without all of this, it could’ve definitely been a better lap, I’m sure," said Kvyat. Kvyat's Toro Rosso teammate Carlos Sainz finished 13th after he suffered a spin during the session. Haas' Romain Grosjean qualified 14th with Jolyon Palmer taking 15th in the second Renault. Sixteenth saw Stoffle Vandoorne ahead of Montreal's Stroll in 17th, after which Stroll said "We have to stay focussed and positive. This is my first home Grand Prix, which is great and I am aiming to enjoy it." Kevin Magnussen finished 18th for Haas with Sauber's Marcus Ericsson in 19th. Twentieth went to Ericsson's teammate Pascal Wehrlein who suffered a spin during his lap sending him into the wall at turn 1 destroying his rear wing. Wehrlein was unhurt. After qualifying, he said “The spin into the barriers was my mistake. I went too far to the right while breaking in turn one and ended up driving over grass. I am very sorry for the team, especially the mechanics, who have been working so hard since the Monaco race – and today will be another long day for them.” Hamilton's incredible pole today puts him just three away from the all-time record for F1 pole positions set by Michael Schumacher. |
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