2
Lewis Hamilton has dedicated his most recent pole position to Niki Lauda, who passed away earlier this week prior to the Monaco Grand Prix.
Hamilton got the better of teammate Valtteri Bottas during qualifying around the Circuit de Monaco, beating the Finn by less than a tenth of a second.
MORE: Qualifying: Hamilton on pole, Leclerc out in Q1
Mercedes were favorites heading into the weekend, given its strong form so far in 2019, taking five consecutive one-two finishes.
Hamilton says that his second Monaco pole is one of the 'best I can remember' amid a difficult weekend for the Mercedes team following the loss of Lauda, who worked as its non-executive chairman.
"This is definitely one of the best poles I can remember.” said Hamilton. "Obviously, we’ve had a lot of success over the years but I can’t really remember one that means as much as this one.
"It’s been a really difficult week for the entire team and for me, personally, it’s been a difficult weekend.
“The goal this weekend was always to get pole as it’s such a difficult circuit. It’s amazing that we’ve turned up as a team and taking strides forward collectively and get strong and improving our performance weekend in, weekend out.
"I’m so proud of everyone, but to have a little bit of cloud over us this weekend meant we really really tried to lift each other up and deliver for Niki.”
Hamilton also praised Bottas, stating that he had to 'dig deep' to beat the 29-year-old who is currently his closest championship rival.
“Valtteri has been a sensational job all weekend. FP1 & FP2 was good for me and then for me in FP3, it didn’t feel as good as on Thursday.
"I had to dig deep and turn the car around and Valtteri did a great flying lap first time out. I was struggling to get the first laptime on the tyres so I did a prep lap for my first lap and the second run wasn’t very good.
"Naturally, I had to gain two tenths because Valtteri was ahead and I thought Valtteri would be up. I was throwing the car around, and I’m pretty sure I touched a few barriers on the way around. But that’s the only way to do it around Monaco.
"I haven’t had a huge amount of success here over the years so it’s never given me quite the perfect lap but this was as close as I could get to it. This one is for Niki.”
Grand Prix of BelgiumLocal time
Grand Prix of BelgiumLocal time
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
M. Verstappen
C. Sainz jr
C. Leclerc
Bahrain
United Arab Emirates
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
Australia
Albert Park
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
United States of America
Miami International Autodrome
Monaco
Monte Carlo
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
Austria
Red Bull Ring
United Kingdom
Silverstone
Hungary
Hungaroring
Belgium
Spa-Francorchamps
Netherlands
Circuit Zandvoort
Italy
Monza
Azerbaijan
Baku City Circuit
Singapore
Marina Bay Street Circuit
United States of America
Circuit of the Americas
Mexico
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
Brazil
Interlagos
United States of America
Las Vegas Street Circuit
United Arab Emirates
Yas Marina Circuit
United Arab Emirates
Yas Marina Circuit
470,122 comments on Mercedes
66 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Lewis Hamilton
615,584 comments on Mercedes 57 members have this team as their favourite Tweets about Mercedes
Replies (2)
Login to replyRam Samartha
Posts: 1,172
I've always found it interesting how some drivers make this gesture. Not sure what recepients are going to do with a race win that or pole position that they didn't actually win, but I guess it's the thought that counts, I'm sure the folks at Mercedes are experiencing a lot of grieving at this time.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
That's because it's a gesture