- Singapore GP - Qualifying
Hamilton needed 'special lap' for pole
Lewis Hamilton says he just got quicker and quicker after recovering from a Turn 1 lock up to edge out Nico Rosberg for pole by just 0.007s in Singapore.
In a thrilling qualifying session, Hamilton was only sixth after his first Q3 run and locked up coming into Turn 1 on his crucial lap. Rosberg briefly took provisional pole but Hamilton pulled out a strong final two sectors to beat his team-mate by a gap smaller than a Mercedes front wing, which he puts down to his ability to stay calm after the first corner.
"That's one of the best sessions I've had in a long time," Hamilton said. "On my last lap I locked up into Turn 1 and lost a bit of time but managed to pull it back later on in the lap. At that point I honestly thought perhaps I would have lost a tenth and a half or been two tenths down but I just kept going and it kept getting better and better throughout the lap.
"I hadn't locked up in Turn 1 all weekend and it's just that little catch, and I mixed the apex. Normally when that happens by Turn 2 you know you're not going to improve but I just kept going, and it started getting better. Often you overdrive to retain those two tenths but I somehow didn't and I put it back together. I knew Nico had already done a very similar time on scrub tyres compared to my previous lap so I knew I needed a special lap."
Until dropping off in Q3, Ferrari had looked very strong in both qualifying sessions, something Hamilton admits he had not expected.
"It was clearly very, very close and I didn't know what to expect. When Ferrari were ahead in Q1 all of a sudden I thought where did they get that time because my time was pretty good. I wasn't trying to look at it too much as there was so much happening. I don't know what [the gap] ended up with but it was very close, but a great effort from the team to come here, very much a downforce- and engine-dependent circuit, and have the performance we have is great."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
