Hamilton equals Senna with stunning performance in qualifying

2017 Canadian Grand Prix qualifying

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Lewis Hamilton equalled his hero Ayrton Senna’s tally of 65 pole positions after a stunning performance in qualifying at Montreal.

Hamilton took his sixth pole position at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve after producing an explosively quick turn of pace in the top ten shoot-out. Sebastian Vettel matched Hamilton first run but a scruffy final lap meant he had to settle for second place alongside his championship rival again.

After the session ended Hamilton was presented with an original helmet worn by Senna from his family in acknowledgement of his achievement.

Q1

Only the Ferrari drivers felt confident enough in their pace on the super-soft tyres to use them in the first part of qualifying. They duly grabbed their places in Q2, though Raikkonen slipped down the order after clouting the barrier at turn nine. The Mercedes pair headed the times having used the ultra-soft tyres.

For the first time in 2017 Pascal Wehrlein failed to out-qualify his team mate. The Sauber driver made a strange mistake approaching turn one on his final flying lap, putting two wheels on the grass and spinning into the barrier. He and Marucs Ericsson qualified on the back row.

This was bad news for Kevin Magnussen who had abandoned an earlier run due to traffic and now found himself unable to improve. Lance Stroll and Stoffel Vandoorne, the latter also having had a brush with the barrier, also failed to proceed further.

The Toro Rossos both made it through though not without some rancour. Carlos Sainz Jnr complained he was unwilling to help his team mate by offering him a slipstream, contrary to his team’s wishes.

Drivers eliminated in Q1

16Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren-Honda1’14.182
17Lance StrollWilliams-Mercedes1’14.209
18Kevin MagnussenHaas-Ferrari1’14.318
19Marcus EricssonSauber-Ferrari1’14.495
20Pascal WehrleinSauber-Ferrari1’14.810

Q2

Sainz’s troubles continued in Q2 when he spun early on at turn one. He complained his car was a “nightmare” to drive. He was even less happy when a problem for his team mate brought out the yellow flags at the end of the session.

Daniil Kvyat smacked the barrier at the exit of turn nine and punctured a tyre. He limped back to the pits, meaning other drivers had to back out of their final efforts.

They were joined by Jolyon Palmer who came off badly when both Renaults set their final times together and his team mate went almost nine tenths of a second quicker.

Fernando Alonso went no further as well, complaining that his Honda appeared to have less power than in Q1. He failed to improve his lap time from the first session, which suggested he had a point.

Drivers eliminated in Q2

11Daniil KvyatToro Rosso-Renault1’13.690
12Fernando AlonsoMcLaren-Honda1’13.693
13Carlos Sainz JnrToro Rosso-Renault1’13.756
14Romain GrosjeanHaas-Ferrari1’13.839
15Jolyon PalmerRenault1’14.293

Q3

The shoot-out for pole position was electrifying. Hamilton’s first lap was a staggering effort, lowering the benchmark time to 1’11.791, well inside anything seen so far during the weekend and comfortably a new track record. It looked unapproachable.

Canadian Grand Prix qualifying in pictures
But Vettel had the pace to match it. A tiny slip-up at turn seven was potentially all that kept him from doing it: He crossed the line just four thousandths of a second slower than the Mercedes.

By the time Vettel returned to the pits Hamilton was heading back out again in his Mercedes. With his final run he took another three tenths of a second off his previous best, leaving Vettel with it all to do on his final run.

It proved too much for the Ferrari driver. Vettel’s last run was a scruffy effort, and even before he reached the hairpin at the far end of the track it was clear pole position wasn’t going to be his.

Bottas and Raikkonen had already taken up the places behind their team mates on the second row. Behind them Max Verstappen led the two Red Bull drivers, and Felipe Massa out-qualified the Force Indias.

Top ten in Q3

1Lewis HamiltonMercedes1’11.459
2Sebastian VettelFerrari1’11.789
3Valtteri BottasMercedes1’12.177
4Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1’12.252
5Max VerstappenRed Bull-TAG Heuer1’12.403
6Daniel RicciardoRed Bull-TAG Heuer1’12.557
7Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes1’12.858
8Sergio PerezForce India-Mercedes1’13.018
9Esteban OconForce India-Mercedes1’13.135
10Nico HulkenbergRenault1’13.271

2017 Canadian Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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151 comments on “Hamilton equals Senna with stunning performance in qualifying”

  1. It’s sad FOM only showed us 4 cars in Q3.

    Otherwise great quali, so much for Ferrari being the favorites eh.

  2. Senna’s helmet has cigarette brand on it!

    1. @magnusy Or a ’70s band :p

    2. Watch for U.K. to bring charges against Sky, R.J.Reynolds, the Senna estate, and Lewis Hamilton.

    3. Honestly wish they’d bring tobacco advertising back, just so there was more sponsor money available.

      Still though, touching moment, I wonder which Lotus race(s) that was worn at?

      1. What a ridiculous thing to say

      2. There’s not as much money in tobacco products these days-at least in the US.

        1. Are you kidding? The advertising ban was a windfall to tobacco companies. It locked-in their market shares and saved them spending 10% of net revenues on marketing.

      3. Honestly wish they’d bring tobacco advertising back, just so there was more sponsor money available.

        The stupidest comment made all year. Just as more and more “developing” countries are taking up the smoking ban, what sane person would want tobacco adverts back?

    4. Andre Furtado
      10th June 2017, 22:21

      Fast food kills more people

      1. you eating a McDonalds next to me isn’t harming me though

        1. cars are hardly the healthiest thing. I have asthma and as a child walking to school the car fumes left more breathless than anyone’s cigarette ever did.

      2. I thought this site had bright people on it

  3. Quite a touching moment Hamilton being presented with Senna’s helmet. The history and tradition that run through Formula 1 is what makes this sport so special.

    1. It was wonderful man! What a Champion Lewis Hamilton!

  4. WHAT. A. LAP.
    And fantastic interview after, his face when he saw the Senna helmet was amazing.
    This “new” F1 is much better. Such a shame Bernie didn’t leave earlier.

  5. Love him or loathe him. Nobody can deny that was an otherworldly lap by Lewis.

    1. nelson piquet
      10th June 2017, 19:13

      yeah the ferrari is clearly 4 seconds faster this season.
      a real human bean and a real hero

    2. Yeah, that was beautiful.

      1. He had the best car or the most dominant car in F1 hydtory for at least 3 years and this year’s car is the best for qualifying , so he has had the best car in at least 65-70 GP’s just in the last 3 years. He has had the best car in all of his F1 seasons so there is nothing great about his record.

        1. mark jackson
          11th June 2017, 5:42

          Nico was faster than Lewis in qualifying, there’s no denying that. I wonder where Nico would have finished on that list if he had a race winning car nearly every year of his career like Lewis did.

          1. @mark jackson

            I am not sure what you have been drinking, because Lewis outqualified Nico 42/36 at Mercedes.

            So ‘Nico was faster than Lewis in qualifying, there’s no denying that.’ I am afraid only exists in your troubled dreams!

        2. Well, let’s cross off most of Schumacher’s and Vettel’ s records then as well. If you’re going to strip away wins and championships from drivers who had the best car at that point in time, there will be very little left. From the outset, F1 has been a team sport and having the right car has always been essential.

          1. Fukobayashi (@)
            11th June 2017, 17:36

            Alot of bitter people on here.

    3. Davidmcgrory
      11th June 2017, 7:07

      I am a vettel fan but Hamilton laps was absolutely class

  6. Stunning drive by Vettel in the slower Ferrari.

    1. True, Bottas had a scruffy lap but Raikkonen was comfortable on his lap still Vettel was 4 tenths up on him.

    2. Ru Chern (@)
      10th June 2017, 19:33

      Relatively, this has always been a strong track for Mercedes and its engine. Good to see that we still have the Lewis vs Seb battle for this season.

    3. Hamilton’s the story today fella. If Vet was stunning Hamilton was godly.

      1. Nah, Hamilton was alright, Vettel did a fantastic job. Hamilton had the faster car and easily beat his never-having-won-a-single-race-team-mate while Vettel beat his world-championship-winning-the-freaking-iceman-himself team mate, and has been beating him consistently throughout the season (and Hamilton hasn’t).

        Hamilton can’t keep it together, he’s simply weaker.

        The car, nah, the car is amazing, all the praise to Mercedes, they have a beautiful car, tremendous engine and fabulous team and drivers.

        1. James, that would be the same Kimi whom a sizeable chunk of the fan base have been saying has been underperforming for several years and should have retired or been sacked by the team by now.

          Kimi might have won the WDC, but that was a decade ago now when he was still relatively young and close to his peak in performance, whereas now he is the oldest driver on the grid by some margin (two years older than Massa). Ever since that title, he seems to have suffered from “James Hunt” syndrome (i.e. after winning a title, never being able to recapture the form that he had before winning that title).

          If you look at his record since then, he was beaten by Massa in 2008 and, up until he had his accident, Massa was beating him in 2009 as well. In 2012 and 2013, he was arguably only beating Grosjean because, as his contract stipulated that he would get favourable treatment, the Lotus team was heavily biased in his favour: as soon as they stopped giving him favourable treatment, Grosjean began beating him.

          Although the 2014 Ferrari was a difficult car, nevertheless Kimi put in one of the worst relative performances against his team mate in the top six teams. In terms of points scored, he was less competitive against Alonso than Massa had been, and that was with Massa co-operating with the team to support Alonso.

          In terms of qualifying performance, only Chilton and Maldonado had a larger average pace deficit to their team mate than he did, whilst Kimi had the worst overall qualifying deficit to his team mate out of all the drivers who completed a full season. Indeed, it is slightly ironic to bring up Bottas given that Bottas very nearly beat Kimi in the WDC in 2015 despite having an inferior car to Kimi.

          1. You’re totally right, I think Kimi has unfortunately floundered since 2007 and much of his reputation may be due to other motives. But let’s not forget how Hamilton was beat by Button and Rosberg on many an occasion (Button actually outscored Hamilton over the course of their partnership). I mean, I think Button was brilliant, but so was Massa.

          2. Why not James, Vet got beaten by Ric so it happens. Ham is a phenom. Go watch 07 and just stop. Arrivebene was not happy atall after Aus Qually he was very unhappy Vet choked pole. Vet choked pole in Spain aswell. Hamilton is making the difference 4 poles this yr. Vet clearly has a great race car and is driving great races tho. Even past it Kimi can get a pole and second in Monaco. Stop putting past there prime drivers for Vett to beat he did it to Webber he is doing it to Kimi.

        2. @nono and James. Do you see Mercedes asking for Vettel? Do you see Mercedes switching out Hamilton for Vettel? Have you heard anyone claiming Mercedes cheating under their dominant years like Redbull and Ferrari? Do you see any of Hamiltons Championships ass the clear nr 1?

          Because if you do then you should Scuderia Nono and James. With you collected armchair know how you would win so much! You would become tired of winning.

          #Lets limit stupidity on our green blue orb

          1. Haha, you’re actually arguing that Hamilton is a better driver than Vettel? Haha, that’s rich!

          2. Why not what makes Vet better? Isit because he has 1 extra title? How isit rich they are both in the top 5 drivers on the grid and best 2 of there generation. Our you telling me Hamilton would get beaten very easily lol? You must not have ever watched his carear he can get beat sure but there is reasons and he is always the faster teammate even to Alonso. If Hamilton had Webber for 5 years he would also be 4xWC. You cannot help who you have as a teammate. How do we know who is better.

    4. @Fireblade

      Have you had a chance to read the Comey transcript yet?

  7. Was in an insane lap.

    Also, obligatory Hulkenberg ruining Palmer’s life.

    1. Or Palmer ruining Palmer’s life ? He is clearly 7 or 8 tenths behind Hulk day in day out. I’d love to see the actual average so far this year data but it can’t be that far off even if you exclude the incidents beyond their control. Or would it be even more ?

      Compare to say Ocon vs Perez where the average delta between the two is bound to be less than 2 tenths, despite the gap in experience…

      1. Before today the cumulative average difference in qualifying between Hülkenberg and Palmer was reported as being 1.25 seconds, by far the greatest difference of the entire field. (At the other end, the difference between Sainz and Kvyat was given as 0.044 seconds in spite of Sainz leading 4 – 2. At Sauber and after today Wehrlein leads Ericsson 4 – 1 but the difference is a mere 0.106 seconds, far less than the gaps between Hamilton and Bottas or Vettel and Räikkönen.) It would seem that unless there is a remarkable turnaround, Palmer will be out before the Summer break.

        1. Thanks Henrik – I would have thought he will be out before the end of next week.

        2. Wow, nice stats. Knew the gap was large, but did not expect it to be over a second. Insane.

          1. @hugh11 It’s over a second mainly because of Palmer’s qualifying in Australia, where he was 3 seconds slower than Hulkenberg…

          2. @hugh11 I think a significant part of that difference is explained by the Australian Grand Prix, which was a bit of an outlier, but apart from that race the gap has been quite consistently around a second. In the race they are closer, though.

  8. Fantastic lap from Hamilton! Really poor from Vandoorne, Palmer, Magnussen and Stroll, and quite poor from Bottas.

    1. @mashiat Again, what was poor about Vandoorne his lap? He has the car with no updates, he has possibly the strongest teammate in the field and he’s still closer than Palmer and Stroll. Vandoorne is if anything a shoe-in for Palmers seat at Renault.

      1. @xtwl He may be better than Stroll and Palmer but he’s been a huge disappointment. He has been touted as the best driver in the junior series since Hamilton and Hulkenberg and many were expecting Vandoorne to be right up there with Alonso in qualifying. It’s not only that he’s consistently slow, but he’s error-prone, he crashed with Massa in Spain and twice in Monaco. I agree it’s not ideal circumstances to be in the McHonda alongside Alonso, but with so many years in the junior series and as a McLaren test driver who should be doing a lot better for someone with his potential.

        1. He’s had a ton of bad luck too, with cars issues galore and again more bad luck in Canada his final run being ruined by Pascal’s spin. You have to give it to him so far he is equal to Alonso on points, thanks Honda. I am sure if any parts are new or better they are going on Alonso’s car, McLaren doesn’t want to lose him and having a rookie besting him wouldn’t help the misery in that garage.

        2. @lolzerbob Hear yourself. In modern days no rookie will ever be remotely close to a 2-time world champion. It’s really that simple. On top he’s had 6 races in this car, half of which he hasn’t been able to finish thanks to an unreliable dog of a car. I’m not going deny he made a mistake in Spain but even Verstappen crashed in Monaco after his win in Spain, three times!

          I’d say all in all he’s doing a very solid job which is all you can expect from him in these circumstances. So the term ‘huge disappointment’ is absolutely not in order. It would be if Alonso was racking up the points finishes and Q3 performances…

          1. @xtwl In modern days it’s actually easier to be closer due to the driver being less able to make a difference and pull out a bigger gap. Alonso missed all of FP1 and some of FP2 and still was six tenths up.

            Not a huge disappointment for an ordinary driver, but this is Vandoorne we are talking about, a driver who blew away everything before F1. In actual fact a very similar junior career to Lewis. And we have to remember that Hamilton as a rookie was able to beat Alonso.

            Alonso may not be scoring multiple points finishes but that’s down to reliability. He would have scored in Melbourne and Shanghai if his car hadn’t failed late on, in Spain if Massa hadn’t hit him and would have been scoring a lot of points in Monaco.

          2. @lolzerbob Again, do you not remember the mileage Lewis was able to do before he got to an actual race weekend? I don’t think Vandoorne has that mileage even after 6 race weekends… And it’s definitely not easier to be closer to your teammate if he’s about 300 GPs ahead of you, that’s just plain nonsense. Alonso has the better car of the two and is expected to be half a second ahead.

        3. W (@vishnusxdx)
          10th June 2017, 20:56

          Vandoorne had failed to deliver a couple of times, I think there is little to discuss there. But the McLaren failed to give him any milage during the wintertesting, and also in the first FP’s and races of the season. Hamilton did 20k km before he entered F1.
          It doesn’t help that Alonso getting ALL of the updates weeks before him and being in full PR mode this season, always naming his performances his best ever and “delivering a lap as good as pole” and that BS.

        4. If Vandoornes so good I would have expected him to have done better against Button in Monaco considering that Button had never driven the car.

        5. Fukobayashi (@)
          11th June 2017, 17:38

          100% agree, Vandoorne has not been worth the hype at all.

      2. @xtwl The updated car is not worth that much. Sure, he’s doing better than Palmer and Stroll, BUT he is better than them. This much was clearly evident from the junior formulas. He’s been really disappointing for me. Not just his pace, but his racecraft as well.

        1. @mashiat “His racecraft”? He made one mistake in Spain, how is that a sign of his lack of racecraft… If anything he did to good in the junior series and now people have to high expectations even though McLaren has had nothing but praise for the man.

          I don’t really know what you people are expecting from Vandoorne. To be one spot behind Fernando Alonso? Outscore him? Even Massa wasn’t this close to Alonso,….

      3. Van Doorn has matching parts here.. his floor has been updated. Even if he didn’t it doesn’t explain getting trashed in qualifying by a wide margin. He has the best driver on the grid as team mate but an unmotivated Alonso.. if Alonso was motivated he’d be even better so it doesn’t look great. Mclaren have told Stoffel he needs to improve…

    2. The commentators said the driver on Pole has converted that to a win in 35% of the races held at this track, meaning a 65% chance they didn’t win, so you can’t count Bottas out for first place. However, if Hamilton is able to maintain that near perfect path around the track he will be hard to beat.

      1. You should look how many times P3 has been converted to a win then to see what chance Bottas has.

  9. Yeah the sandbags came off lol. They weren’t even subtle about it in FP3 this time around.

    1. They arent sandbagging they are saving engines.

      1. Are they saving rear wing too lol? They weren’t even using DRS.

  10. What’s the current chance of rain for tomorrow’s race?

    1. 0% chance. No rain until Tuesday in Montreal. Will be up towards 30c tomorrow.

  11. Coincidence that both Bottas and Raikkonen are similar distance from their teammate? Engine settings favoured for Hamilton and Raikkonen?

    1. **correction**
      Engine settings favoured for Hamilton and Vettel?

      1. Maybe the drivers controlling the cars did it a little better this time.

    2. What a great idea to detune your engines when you are fighting for constructors championship….

      1. I just find it suspicious…would expect Bottas and Raikkonen to be much closer to their teammate…+/- 0,7s difference with the same material for both teams. We have not seen these gaps this season.

        1. Hmm Ferrari and Mercedes made a deal to both detune the engines of their “second” drivers so that they are both behind their “first” drivers but still fight each other. Luckily both followed the agreement and did not want to qualify ahead of the “first” driver of the other team in the first place anyway.

          1. Sarcasm obviously. (Just in case…)

      2. Some people are beyond help …. engaging the brain before opening the mouth saves a lot of dumb comments.

        1. Both teams have number two drivers.. At least at Red Bull they are dicing it out with two great drivers.

  12. That was very touching with the Senna connection.

    Some genius on here yesterday said Lewis is an ‘average driver’.

    Just now and again, we see something ‘otherworldly’, that only a handful of drivers in all of F1 history would have been capable of. I have a feeling that lap was one of those moments.

    1. @paulguitar
      I’d stay away from the phrase “an average driver”.
      The right one for me is “an overestimated driver”.

      The HUGE difference with Senna is that Ayrton, like almost every single F1 driver in the history of this sport, started at the bottom, proved his skills with underperforming machineries and then progressed steadily up to the top. In comparison with nowadays terms, he started with a Sauber (Toleman), then drove a Force India (or the present Red Bull if you will [Lotus]) and took the most out of them, even more maybe, and then the dominant Mercedes (McLaren) was the logical step up.

      Lewis has had, throughout his entire career, top machineries and has never proved what he is capable of with an underperforming car. I really can’t forget the 2011 season, where McLaren started having huge up and downs, and Lewis pulled quite a few “Maldonado’s” that season. Monaco GP was the worst one. And when Massa confronted him, with his reaction he proved, in my humble opinion, what kind of a spoilt brat he is.

      I totally respect Lewis for being 3 times World Champion, but I’d never place him among the top drivers in F1 history, skill-wise.

      1. Had to laugh at the end there. Hamilton is the only driver in F1 history to win a race in every season he has competed in, is 2nd in the all time stats of wins, 2nd in the all time stats for pole positions, has the highest win percentage of any of the current field and is a triple world champion. Yet you wouldn’t put him in amongst the top F1 Drivers?

        Apart from the past 3 seasons at Mercedes he’s rarely had the fastest car(2009 was a dog and he still got a win), has had some stiff competition on the other side of his garage (mostly, Heiki wasn’t).

        His race-craft is sublime, and he can overtake like a boss.

        I’m really struggling to not place amongst the all time greats with a rap sheet like that

        1. nelson piquet
          11th June 2017, 9:05

          fastest cars for hamilton – 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
          second fastest – 2009 (only in the second half of the season), 2010, 2011, 2013
          no other driver in f1 history had that good cars

          1. Good drivers usually end up in good cars, but at least until 2014 Hamilton only got competitive, but not championship-dominating cars.

            Ferrari were stronger than McLaren in 2007 and 2008. In 2012 the McLaren was only fast in qualifying, but not nearly as fast in race trim. Hamilton also lost a lot of points due to team errors and unreliability, so I think Red Bull had a better package. Based on Räikkönen’s current performances I think it’s safe to assume that the Lotus was the 2nd-fastest car in 2013. This year it’s very close between Ferrari and Mercedes, but I feel Ferrari is slightly ahead due to their better race pace.

      2. Hamilton also started at the bottom. It’s worth thinking before F1, just like you can do with Senna. Yes Hamilton started in a McLaren, but what is he to do, decline the drive for some future legacy? Besides, he had to earn that through winning throughout his career in the lower formulae.

        2009 also proved what Hamilton can do with an underperforming car. Don’t take my words, this is what Alonso said.

        He can have some crap drives, but himself , Vettel and Alonso are all worthy of the status of F1 greats… just my biased opinion though.

      3. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
        11th June 2017, 1:49

        @sakis well, you said that Lewis has had top machinery throughout his F1 career. That’s debatable but I suspect what you meant is that he started with a top team and has been with a big time as if he were a 2 time world champion (like his teammate at the time).

        Have you thought for a second why he started at that team?

        Real Madrid would not replace Ronaldo with you or me unless we could also score 50 goals every season and win everything there is to win. McLaren gave Leiws the ride because they felt he deserved it as a rookie, not because they are the biggest idiots on the planet…

        1. Michael (@freelittlebirds), scoring 40 goals per season with Wrexham on Division 2 doesn’t make me a great striker. I may have potential but I have to fight my way up and prove my skills on a harder level. Ronaldo was 2 years on Sporting Lisbon reserves, then promoted to the main team and on Man Utd he proved that he is great. On every single occupation in this world that demand skills, the same rule applies. Can you think of a rookie pilot on a commercial 400 seat airliner? Obviously no.
          All I am saying is that Lewis may have skills but he never fought his way up proving his skills and showing that he deserves to drive for a top team. Everything was ready for him. Even before his first F1 race, he was already presented by the British Press as the “new god” of the sport. I can’t recall any other person who had so many advantages before his first appearance. Top equipment, media attention and an overdose of hype. Come on man, give me a break here.
          Numbers do indeed say that he belongs to the legends of the sport, but according to my point of view, truth is a little bit different. And I am gonna give you an example. Numbers do say that Schumacher is 7 times world champion and holds so many records. But the truth is that Benetton was using illegal electronics. Everybody knows this. And after 2000, Ferrari had absolutely no competition at all. Let alone the fact of the smiley Butlerchello.
          Whether you accept my point of view or not, you can’t deny that numbers do not reveal the truth.

          1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
            11th June 2017, 14:31

            @sakis as you can see with Max Verstappen, some drivers don’t go through the same development and don’t bloom at the same age. Lewis swept through every junior category he competed in. When he joined McLaren, even Alonso had to up his game to keep up. Since we are using the soccer analogies, it’d be akin to joining Barcelona and Messi having to prove that he’s your equal.

            What you might not realize is that joining a top team at an early stage of your career doesn’t make it easier. It makes it harder. The pressure to deliver against one of the best drivers in the history of F1, namely Alonso, is immense. Look at what happened to Checo at McLaren who is a great driver. It nearly destroyed his career.

            But time and time again, we see Lewis on track practically redefining the sport. His qualifying is electric like Senna’s and in the races he’s been so dominant that his teammate (who beat Schumi in 3 seasons and would say it every chance he had) never managed to pass him once on track over 4 years together.

      4. @sakis I don’t think Fangio ever drove a weak car in f1 either though

      5. Toleman = Sauber? Learn your F1 history, please.

      6. Yep, talent wise – yes, skill wise – no.
        On days when the odds were against them, they dug deep and delivered.
        Lewis bizzarely delivers off days. If only he was remotely interested in working on that.

    2. I think he said LH was no more than mediocre at best … maybe he changes channels when F1 is on and just bases his dumb comments on media hype.

  13. When I saw the 1.11.7… I was not expecting that! then Vettel being 4thousands off? I was thinking he’s going to need an 1.11.5… Vettel will go quicker, then he does an 1.11.4.. speechless

    Sensational driving from both Ham and Vet, should be interesting tomorrow.

    I have to say, would Alonso be able to perform like this in a competitive car?

    1. nelson piquet
      10th June 2017, 19:15

      not in qualifying but in the races

    2. @icarby Why shouldn’t he be able to? He’s performed at the top level whenever he has a car capable of winning.

      1. Hamilton has had the most dominant car in formula 1 history

        No.

        1. Even if he did, this is on merit. In F1, to sit in the best cars is driver’s merit. Period.

  14. As much as Hamilton is my least favourite driver, that was an absolutely mega lap, worth of tying the record. Brilliant tribute showing little changes in F1 but if you add up some of them (interviews on the grid, Kimi’s meeting with young fan, track tour for fans) it looks a really good thing for the sport, which already looks healthier thanks to that.

    1. Yes, Liberty Media are doing a good job.

    2. Yes, it bodes well if they can keep improving fan engagaement, things like that make the Grandprix weekend more memorable.

    3. Interviews on grid good, but not really honest: “Valtteri, once again another phenomenal job”

      @michal2009b

    4. Not quite a record, though…

  15. MG421982 (@)
    10th June 2017, 19:17

    KIMI: “BHOAW… with a car like that anybody can do it!”

  16. What’s the satisfaction of matching someone who died way too early? It’s like stealing the wallet from a carcass. So much for commercial interests….

    1. What kind of comment is that?
      Noone should every be able to compare themself against Sennas F1 achievments because he died to early?

      If Lewis dies before age 34 can we compare them then?

    2. Wasn’t it the Senna family that offered the gesture?

    3. Senna started 1984 and died May 1994. Lewis started 2007 and equalled the tally June 2017. Fair enough.

  17. MG421982 (@)
    10th June 2017, 19:22

    VET should check his Pirelli tyres and the data. It’s quite obvious Pirelli “tweaked” his tyres to hand over the PP and the win to Mercedes.

    1. @corrado-dub Yeah, a team of well educated engineers couldn’t see it but you from your chair at home did. Probably true…

      1. @xtwl
        I think you’ll find he was being sarcastic in response to Mercedes hilariously stupid comments about the “italian mystery”.

        1. MG421982 (@)
          10th June 2017, 20:39

          Yup. Good there’re around guys with “wider views”.

          1. @corrado-dub I’m sorry I didn’t spot your “not so obvious sarcasm” on a site where there are people claiming Hamilton is not a legend of the sport, or where people pretend Kimi had to hand over a Monaco win to Vettel or, shall I go on?

            Wider views, …. my .ss.

      2. +1 got to love the (ludicrous) armchair conspiracy theories! Not taking anything away from LH, it was sensational lap, but Montreal was always going to suit the Mercedes, just like Monaco suited Ferrari (and Red Bull). I think it’s interesting that the Ferrari is competitive and consistent everywhere. That is a strong card to play. Massive credit to Ferrari.

        1. ludicrous

          That was @corrado-dub‘s point

  18. I think this is the year where it would be nice to watch races live…

  19. The most heart stopping qualy ever. Amazing gesture by Senna family. Liberty have hit a home run with post qualy interviews. If anyone can fight back to Ferrari its clearly Lewis.

    1. If anyone can fight back to Ferrari its clearly Lewis.

      Yeah Mercedes is such underdogs lol. I guess Toto’s campaign with the help of British press has been working.

  20. Personally the highlight was watching both Vettel and Hamilton develop their lap times through qualifying. Starting from Q1 they both built those laps sector by sector into Q3, particularly interesting watching Hamilton working it through and then tying it all together in the final run.

    A masterclass in how to achieve one lap potential from two of the best qualifiers in the sport, pushing each other to new performance heights and leaving significant gaps to both of their team mates. Just a shame Vettel’s final run was not up to the rest of his laps!

  21. A lap from the gods!
    If Lewis converts that into a dominant win, it will be interesting to see the excuses that people here will dig up to avoid voting him driver of the weekend. Because you know they will.
    Well done Lewis.

    1. You’re kidding right?
      Even last race he got some votes for his ‘performance’. If there’s one driver one the grid who will get votes regardless of performance it’s Hamilton.

      1. MG421982 (@)
        10th June 2017, 20:50

        +1

        1. Thing is: fans don’t like dominant teams. When RB was dominating, Vettel was rarely voted DOTW even though he was flawless.
          Same sometimes goes for Hamilton.

          1. Sometimes being the keyword here.

      2. Alonso gets more votes per point than Lewis.

        1. @jureo
          True. Alonso is, by far, the most overhyped driver on the grid.
          If he farts some here will say they heard God whisper.

          1. I am an Alonso fan, along with LH, VB DA and SV and I have to agree that FA is one of the best but I am tired of hearing if he had this car or that car he would win just about everything but he isn’t in one of those cars and there must be some reason why the top teams have not secured his services …. personally I would love to see him in Indycar full time.

          2. Sorry DA should read DR.

    2. Right, because no other driver didn’t win DOTW while dominating? Some people…

  22. Go Lewis go!

  23. Amazing milestone.

  24. Grow up dude

  25. Hamilton did epic :)

  26. Hammertime and a memorable F1 moment, that helmet’s some incentive to win tomorrow, Lewis must be feeling mighty stoked.
    Nail the start mate, fingers crossed.

  27. nelson piquet
    10th June 2017, 22:10

    ricciardo seems no longer a threat to verstappen

    1. Utter nonsense

  28. Thought it was a touch odd he just left the helmet case lying there in Turn 2.

    1. There was an official/worker/helper there who put the case in the car with Hamilton.

      1. Some people just don’t watch what is actually going on, LH spoke to someone after the interview about the case.

  29. It was such a superb lap I wooped when he took the first chicane and again at the wall of champions. My wife did remark upon it. “Please don’t start yelling during quali”… Oh well…

    1. Actually, even Villeneuve was impressed​and said so. Can’t remember him being openly impressed by a lap. I generally listen to him for his comedic hate of young drivers.

  30. as i find Lewis an driver how needs an good car this lap was superb! But seen the pace of Vettel on racepace i think it will be an Ferrarri 1-2 Mercedes 3-4. Or the weather will make it wet then Lewis has an good chance.

  31. Tonto was well pleased :)

  32. It was a brilliant effort by Hamilton. Well deserved and hoping to see a clean fair fight upfront in the race. If it rains, hoping to see some unexpected results.

  33. There be many Hamilton hat8rs amongst us who maybe dislike his attitude and lifestyle choices. Some who believe he is just a spoiled brat with talent…

    But oh my what a talent. Matching 65th pole of Senna, with an amazing lap. Briliant, he drove perfectly, to beat second greatest qualifier of this generation.

    Anyone with eyes could see how amazing his lap was. Judged, precise, minimum stearing inputs.

    What makes it even better, Mercedes might not have even been good enough for pole, but Lewis sure was.

    1. @jureo
      You’re joking right?
      Both Hamilton and Bottas improved so much from Q2 to Q3 it’s laughable to suggest Ferrari had a chance.
      Just Mercedes and their typical sandbaggery up to Q3.
      Yes Hamilton’s lap was impressive but as soon as I saw Mercedes’ first laps in Q3 I knew it was going to be Hamilton on pole.

      1. From Q2 to Q3, Vettel improved just as much as Hamilton, and could have improved even more if not for his scruffy final run. By the way, Bottas improved by only 0.4 s. If this was a case of typical Mercedes sandbagging, I doubt Bottas would have been 0.7s off Hamilton, considering his lap on the first run was decent.

        Also, if not for Raikkonen’s mistake on his final run, he would have qualified ahead of Bottas. I’d say Ferrari and Mercedes are almost equal here. Mercedes can’t be accused of having a clear engine advantage, since Vettel was faster than Hamilton in both the speed trap and the final sector.

      2. “I doubt Bottas would have been 0.7s off Hamilton”

        Sorry, I should have written 0.4s off Vettel there.

    2. mark jackson
      11th June 2017, 16:50

      Hamilton 0.7s ahead of Bottas, he must be a driving god! Bottas ahead of Hamilton, WHAT’S WRONG WITH HAMILTON’S CAR?!!?!

  34. Wow. That car is quick but you need a special talent to be able to exploit it. Simply brilliant.

    And the gift from the Senna family was touching, even more with Hamilton’s reaction!

  35. The sooner Williams can put DiResta in the car, the better.

    They ought to put some pressure on Lawrence Stroll.

    1. @faulty You’re the first person ever who ask for DiResta in a car rather than out. They should’ve just taken Lynn.

  36. What a lap by lewis. No one was getting near that time. That was next level! Well done F1 and the senna family also. That was a touching moment when Lewis received sennas helmet. Amazing gesture and a true sporting moment.

  37. Dayuum, unfortunately didn’t watch quali. Nice one from my man Lewis.

  38. I am definitely no Hamilton fan – never was and never will be – but concede that the pole lap was inspirational, despite the fact that he was driving a car to match it on a power track.

  39. WimB, it’s called strawman argument. You arguing against nobody. Nobody wants to strip away any records. You’re the one mentioning that.

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