After front row sweep, Hamilton says its business as usual at Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton took pole for his home race at Silverstone after leaving himself just one lap in which to get the job done.
Hamilton was fastest on the first runs in Q3 but the FIA deleted his time for exceeding track limits. Had he messed up his second run he might have been relegated to 10th, but instead he ensured that he starts ahead of team mate Nico Rosberg on Sunday.
“Not the cleanest qualifying session,” Hamilton admitted. “I think we had really good pace. In Q1 I ran wide a bit wide at Turn Three and lost about four tenths there. And then after that I had really good pace. The penultimate lap was a very good lap, but unfortunately it was taken away. I touched the curb but it pulled me further.
“It didn't feel like I was going to be running wide, but the car bottomed and kind of bounced just outside the line. A lot of pressure for that last lap. I was just sitting in the garage and I knew that I couldn't let the guys down as on the first lap I had. The second lap wasn’t as good but I was obviously making sure I was cautious, making sure I got that lap in.”
Hamilton admitted that he enjoyed that pressure to get a clean lap in.
“It was huge but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter how big or small it is, I’ve got to do a job. Yeah, definitely being at my home Grand Prix, seeing everyone come out and wanting that result, for sure, but honestly, it just energizes me. I don’t know why, just in those moments it’s when I am the most excited.
“You know, being under pressure is something not to be shied away from, it’s something to attack full on, and that’s generally what I’ve tried to do. And it doesn’t always work, but I was coming down the pit lane I was thinking, jeez, what happens if I lock up at Turn One? But you can’t let those words, small little voices, get inside your head, you just bat it away and ‘I won’t lock up in Turn One.’
“Honestly, every single lap I go out and every single corner and I see the crowd and they wave, there’s nowhere in the world that I can ever, ever experience that and I wish that people could feel what I feel. Obviously it’s a different feeling when you’re outside watching but I wish people could feel what I feel when I look and see the flags waving.”
Hamilton says he has no concerns about the new “rules of engagement” that the team has imposed on the two drivers.
“I didn’t think there was anything that needed to be cleared up anyway. We just get on with our job, there’s a long way to go and I will try to not to be in that position again and I can’t speak for him, but I’m sure Nico will do the same.
“Tomorrow we’re going to race. We’re going to race as we always do. Of course what we have been told before this weekend we are aware of and conscious of, so it will be at the back of our minds for sure – but that does not mean that we can’t continue to drive hard as we have done. So, tomorrow, I think it starts the same.”
