Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton secured the 45th pole position of his career when he outpaced Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in a dramatic rain-affected qualifying for today’s Austrian GP.
Lewis Hamilton (right) along with Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg
Spielberg: Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton secured the 45th pole position of his career when he outpaced Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in a dramatic rain-affected qualifying for today’s Austrian GP.
Lewis Hamilton (right) along with Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg
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His success drew him level in third place with German Sebastian Vettel in the record books for poles and signalled that his Mercedes team have secured every pole position since last year’s race at the Red Bull Ring in the Styrian Alps.
“It was quite a difficult qualifying with the track conditions,” admitted Hamilton, who is now third, alongside Sebastian Vettel in the all-time list of pole-winners.
Kimi Raikkonen
Only Brazilian Ayrton Senna on 65 and German Michael Schumacher on 68 have taken more poles.
“I was grateful I got my third lap in on the first run in Q3. I was pushing that bit extra on the next run and just locked the rears.”
Hamilton spun off at Turn One on his final run shortly before his teammate Nico Rosberg ran wide and off the track at the final corner as he attempted to improve and snatch pole.
Raikkonen livid
Meanwhile, an angry Kimi Raikkonen blasted his Ferrari team after he missed the first cut and qualified only 18th for today’s Austrian GP.
The 35-year-old said Ferrari changed strategy and sent him out too late with a revised plan. He was heard to use an expletive on the team radio and later added that he had been given “wrong” information.
“I was doing the same thing that I had been told when we went out and I never got the information that the first plan was not even possible and we missed one lap completely.
“I was basically doing the normal thing and I was not told that the plan had changed. The point is — they sent me out too late and we missed one lap and it cost us a lot.”
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