Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he initially thought his pole position lap wasn’t good enough for pole, after the McLaren driver was locked in a train of cars with the likes of Kimi Raikkonen and the two Ferraris. However, with Ferrari unable to find the pace to beat McLaren, Hamilton found himself fastest as the flag dropped at the end of qualifying.
After ending the final practice session fastest prior to the qualifying hour, it was expected that Lewis Hamilton would unquestionably be a contender for pole along with the likes of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button. However, when the Spaniard was impeded due to an issue on his car, Lewis Hamilton was able to clinch pole ahead of his team-mate Jenson Button.
“Generally I didn’t think that lap was anywhere near good enough and I was up, I think, a couple of tenths in my second lap but I was in a train of cars: Kimi and two Ferraris in front.” Explained Lewis Hamilton, after qualifying had come to a conclusion. “So, I wasn’t really able to better my lap but none the less I’m happy and I’m really happy for the team because they’ve been doing a fantastic job.”
Lewis Hamilton has been embroiled in contractual speculation throughout the Italian Grand Prix weekend, with various reports linking the 2008 World Champion to a switch to Mercedes for next season. Both teams have denied these allegations, however Lewis Hamilton has reserved all of his talking for the track, showing the F1 fraternity that his only current ambition is to remain at the sharp end of the field. This Briton stated that the ongoing speculation has not impeded his progress this weekend, with Hamilton being questioned at every available opportunity with regards to his future.
“I haven’t had any distractions this weekend so it’s been quite positive.” Continued Lewis Hamilton, “The support from my family and friends, as always, has been incredible, so just been enjoying the weekend. It’s been pretty smooth so far.”
The Italian Grand Prix is one of the few races on the calendar which Lewis Hamilton has yet to win throughout his career, a fact the British star will be striving to change come race day. However, with team-mate Jenson Button, sparring partner Felipe Massa and F1 veteran Michael Schumacher surrounding him on the grid, his road to victory is anything but straight forward.
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