Lewis Hamilton: “It will be difficult to overtake”

Lewis Hamilton set the best time in the qualifying session this Saturday, October 9 in Turkey. The Briton beat his teammate Valtteri Bottas and his rival for the title Max Verstappen. As is often the case, the seven-time world champion first wanted to greet the public during his post-session statement: “We have an incredible crowd here, thank you. It's great to come back to Turkey, because last year it was an incredible day for the team and for myself (he obtained his seventh world title by winning on this circuit. Editor's note). The track is completely different from last year with much better grip. It was a difficult session. There were still wet areas in certain places and it was difficult to get the tires up to temperature. The team did a very good job, they reacted at the right time and I gave everything. »

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Nevertheless, the Mercedes number 44 will not start from pole position this Sunday in the race since a penalty of ten places will be applied for changing engine components. The leader of the Drivers' championship will therefore have to move up in the peloton so as not to lose too many points on the Dutchman from Red Bull. “It won't be easy to overtake, Hamilton believes. It will be difficult to come back if we look at the last race but we will see how we can use the opposite line and we hope to give a great day to the fans. »