"Outstanding" Hamilton twice breaks lap record to match Senna's 65 career poles; Title leader Vettel 0.3s adrift on front row
Thursday 31 October 2019 09:19, UK
Lewis Hamilton produced a scintillating Canadian GP Qualifying performance to beat Sebastian Vettel to pole position and equal his hero Ayrton Senna's career total.
Ten years after his first F1 pole at the same circuit, Hamilton moved level with Senna's haul of 65 poles for second place in the all-time standings with what Sky F1's Martin Brundle described as a "virtuoso performance" in Montreal.
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Hamilton twice broke the circuit's outright lap record in Q3 with his stunning final lap of 1:11.459 three tenths of a second faster than championship leader Vettel could manage.
The championship's top two left their respective team-mates trailing, with third-fastest Valtteri Bottas and fourth-quickest Kimi Raikkonen to share row two.
But it was Hamilton's pace which left the pundits purring after he equalled both Senna's career mark and Michael Schumacher's record of six Montreal poles.
"What a pole position to equal the great man himself, Ayrton Senna," said Brundle, a former rival of the late Brazilian triple world champion.
"That was an outstanding performance. He's three quarters of a second ahead of his team-mate, who was also driving nicely. A virtuoso performance, what a lap."
Hamilton is now just three more poles away from matching Schumacher's all-time F1 record of 68.
With the Mercedes and Ferraris again monopolising the first two rows, Red Bull once more locked out the third - although Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, fourth and fifth respectively, were within striking distance of Bottas and Raikkonen on pace.
Felipe Massa was seventh for Williams ahead of Force India pair Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon. Fernando Alonso was 12th on his F1 return, while his McLaren team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne and Canadian rookie Lance Stroll again struggled and both dropped out in Q1.
Hamilton and Mercedes back 'on point'
With five poles and as many wins behind him in his first decade racing at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Hamilton had long established himself as the venue's modern-day man to beat - yet Mercedes arrived in Canada stressing they were now "underdogs" to Ferrari in 2017's engrossing title battle.
The Scuderia had appeared to confirm their supremacy by setting the pace in the final two practice sessions but the gaps closed back again once qualifying began, with Mercedes heading into Q3 after finishing first and second in the second phase.
But, right from the start of the decisive final phase, Hamilton unleashed previously-unseen pace to turn the screw on his pole rivals. While Vettel all-but matched his first lap at the second attempt, Hamilton pulled a further 0.3s out to settle the pole battle on his final run.
"I was so happy with the laps," said a delighted Hamilton afterwards. "The car was difficult at the beginning of yesterday. I already felt like I was at the limit of the car so we sat down and studied to see if we could squeeze out any more juice from it, which we did.
"I sent out a message to my guys this morning, saying we need everything to be on point. We need every single millimeter that the car can give us today, and they did it."
Having being on the brink of matching Senna's 65 poles since Spain, a replica version of the crash helmet used by the Brazilian triple champion from 1987 was presented to Hamilton as a present from the Senna family. The Briton will receive a real version of the helmet at his Monaco home at a later date.
"I'm shaking. I'm speechless," said a visibly emotional Hamilton. "Ayrton was the man who inspired me, so to match him, and to receive this is the greatest honour so a big, big thank you to the Senna family."
But Ferrari threat remains to Mercedes
Ferrari's wait for a first Montreal pole in 16 years goes on, but Vettel will start alongside Hamilton on the front row on Sunday as he bids to maintain his 25-point championship advantage.
The German had produced what appeared to be his own exceptional lap to get within a tenth of Hamilton on his second Q3 run, but could not then find the same improvement on his final set of ultrasoft tyres.
Nonetheless, having shown strongly throughout the weekend so far, Vettel insisted: "I think we have [the pace to win tomorrow].
"Not so happy with the last run I had in qualy, I would have loved to repeat the second run and just find a little bit. I probably pushed a little too hard."
"It was a good session. In the beginning I was struggling to find the rhythm. The seagulls were in Turn One last year, so I'm pretty sure we should be fine tomorrow!"
Can Mercedes hit back in the 2017 title fight with Ferrari? Don't miss the Canadian GP live only on Sky Sports F1 this weekend. The race starts at 7pm on Sunday. Watch the race for £6.99 on NOW TV
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