Hamilton at the peak of his driving: “I did everything possible”

Difficult to choose among 79 poles which was the most beautiful for Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes). But his performance in Singapore on Saturday during qualifying is certainly one of the most unexpected! The Briton was already surprised by his pace in Free Practice: “I don’t know if this gap is real or not”, he explained in relation to Ferrari.

It is clear that the Mercedes has become the best tool for taking pole. Finally, it must nevertheless be driven by a high-class pilot. That's good, Lewis Hamilton found the necessary talent to relegate Max Verstappen (Red Bull) by more than three tenths, but above all Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) more than half a second away!

Bright lights, big city…one mega lap!

Take it away, Lewis #SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/yqf6x9KRMN

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 15, 2018

“It’s like magic,” he said in front of his supporters, before delving deeper into his thoughts at a press conference. “I was a little nervous before qualifying (due to drawing gap in EL3 compared to Sebastian Vettel). Q3 had to come down to assembling all the pieces from testing and making a perfect puzzle. 99,9% of the time it doesn't happen like that. »

But his first attempt in Q3 was perfect. “I never had any slippage or sudden loss of grip, I knew how to maximize the potential of the car on every turn. » Which did not prevent him from attempting an improvement a few moments later, which unfortunately failed.

“I tried to delay my braking by 50 centimeters for example, but it was too much and the car couldn't keep up. In fact, I really think I did everything possible in the first flying lap”, analyzes the four-time world champion.

Wow, that lap felt like magic! It was an incredible feeling as it all came together. I'm so massively grateful of everyone at the factory who always work so hard, thank you. This track is truly beautiful and I can't wait until tomorrow! #Pole #SingaporeGP @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/dSoQHRvqXd

- Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) September 15, 2018

The Briton's last pole in Singapore dates back to 2014. “This track is epic and very difficult. It's even the toughest circuit of the season. There are more turns than in Monaco. Red Bull and Ferrari were expected to be very strong here. So it’s an incredible moment to be on pole! »

On pole, Lewis Hamilton is in an ideal situation to increase his lead in the general classification, which already stands at 30 points.