Hamilton's pole lap "not from this world" - Mercedes boss Wolff
Hamilton's pole lap "not from this world" - Mercedes boss Wolff
Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff believes Lewis Hamilton produced a pole position lap for the Styrian Grand Prix that was from another planet.
In atrocious wet conditions at the Red Bull Ring, Hamilton beat Red Bull's Max Verstappen to top spot on the grid by an astonishing 1.2 seconds, the ninth time in the last 13 wet qualifying sessions he has claimed pole.
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable performance in taking what was also the 89th pole of his F1 career, Wolff said: "Very rarely you see performances that are just not from this world.
"When you look at the onboard of his lap, he was balancing the car on the edge, aquaplaning, throttle control was incredible, and I can't remember [when] we have seen 1.2 seconds between first and second."
As to why there was such a difference between Hamilton and the rest, Wolff added: "I think driver and car merge into one where a perfect car with the tyres in the right window and perfect driveability on the power unit comes together with skill and the intelligence of a racing driver, and only then you see these kinds of performances."
The lap was reminiscent of Hamilton's pole position performance for the 2018 Singapore Grand Prix that has been rated as one the greatest of all time.
Given the conditions in Austria, for Hamilton, it was as near to perfection as he can recall.
"Honestly, it was a fantastic lap, the last one," said Hamilton.
"The importance of managing your time out there, managing your battery pack, knowing when to use the few laps you have on the qualifying modes, creating the gap, not making a mistake when it counts, that last lap for me was as close to perfect as I could get it in those conditions.
"Considering it was raining even more, it makes me even happier knowing I went a little bit quicker that last time.
"It definitely takes me back to times like Silverstone 2008 [when Hamilton won the British GP by 68 seconds in wet conditions] when you're really at one with the car and you're not fazed at all.
"You have to be very dynamic with your driving style from corner to corner because the wet patches arrive, the puddles are shifting about with the cars that are driving ahead of you, which is a massive challenge.
"I'm smiling under this mask, so yeah, super happy."
Before you go...
Ferrari "just too slow at the moment" - Leclerc
Verstappen: Spin not to blame for missing pole
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 Sprint Race Today: Chinese Grand Prix 2024 start times, schedule and TV
- 5 minutes ago
Wolff left FUMING with Mercedes despite amazing Hamilton lap
- 35 minutes ago
Verstappen admits Red Bull 'DESERVED' horror China qualifying
- 1 hour ago
F1 News Today: Verstappen suffers MAJOR China defeat as F1 star LOSES pole after FIA intervention
- 2 hours ago
FIA announce crucial top three UPDATE in China after investigating F1 star
- 2 hours ago
Hamilton DELIGHTED with Mercedes pace after China masterclass - Top three verdict
- 3 hours ago
Related news
Hamilton makes STUNNING claim on F1 future amid Ferrari contract uncertainty
Brundle questions Ferrari Hamilton decision with Vettel comparison
EXCLUSIVE: Hamilton to Ferrari 'a big risk' according to McLaren driver
Hamilton to open Wolff talks at Mercedes amid Ferrari F1 move uncertainty
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860