Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, Briton Mercede driver, to start at pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix. He was surprised at himself after taking the pole from Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen. He beats him by 0.045 seconds even though Mercedes team had had a hard time chasing the Ferrari and Red Bull drivers.
“We had some big calls to make going into qualifying and then those laps – particularly the first Q3 lap – was very well put together,” he said.
“A very nice lap.”
Hamilton added: “I don’t really know where it came from so I’m a little bit surprised at myself.”
Hamilton finished first lap 0.9 seconds earlier than his team mate Valtteri Bottas. He did not improved in his second but was able to cornered Raikkonen. He reset the boundaries by 0.232 seconds and won the position at pole.
“We had such a difficult day [on Friday]; it was difficult to know where we stood,” Hamilton said.
“I didn’t sleep very well, just like all my engineers as well, because we didn’t know whether we would fix the issue or not.
“But today we arrived and the car was much better, but still I think it looked like the Ferraris were a little bit ahead.
“I’m very grateful. It’s always a special thing to be able to extract a little bit more out of the car than it’s particularly willing to go. That’s what I’ve always enjoyed.”
Sympathy for Vettel
The Ferrari title rival, Sebastian Vettel, who is 28 points behind the Hamilton, will have to start at end due to an engine fault.
“Sebastian… I mean, he would have been up there with us,” Hamilton said. “He’d been driving well all weekend, very, very quick, between him and Kimi.”
“Very unfortunate for him, but of course we just have to continue to focus on our job and try to maximise every opportunity that we get collectively.”
Ferrari and Red Bull Threat
Hamilton is aware of the threat who will start the race with Raikkonen alongside and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, behind them at third and fourth position.
Vettel, who was favorite for pole before he ran into engine problem, said: “We have a very quick car so we should be able to make up a lot of ground.
“We have more tyres than everyone else, we can maybe do something with strategy.”
