Hamilton surprised to be on pole ahead of Red Bulls

The Red Bull and especially Max Verstappen big favorites for qualifying, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) knew that he was starting with a slight delay in the fight for pole.

True to himself, the Englishman ultimately did not flinch at the most important moment and managed to outclass the two RB16Bs from the Austrian team to take the 99th pole of his career to his greatest surprise.

« The day was perfect. I didn't expect to be in front of the two Red Bulls, recognized the Englishman. They were fast throughout the weekend. At times she was six tenths ahead and we didn't really know where we were.

But I felt better in the car this weekend. So I take my hat off to the team for all the work done to reduce this gap ».

With Valtteri Bottas 8th on the grid, Lewis Hamilton finds himself alone against the armada of the red bull. Nothing to discourage him from the race. On the contrary, the Briton wants to fight!

« I like the challenge. It’s great to have the two Red Bulls in front. They are not going to make our task any easier when it comes to strategy. It will be a big challenge as their racing pace is good. I think their pace was better on the long runs yesterday (Friday).

In the end I'm very happy because my first flying lap was very clean. There were some improvements in the second one but ultimately it wasn't as good as the first ».