HOCKENHEIM, Germany – Lewis Hamilton gave Mercedes something else to celebrate by winning the pole for the German Grand Prix on Saturday at the Hockenheimring.
Hamilton, driving a car sporting a special livery in honor of Mercedes’ 125 years of involvement in motorsport, secured the pole with a 1:11.767 lap during Q3 on Saturday afternoon in Germany.
“I’m super happy to be on pole, it’s such a special race for all of us,” said Hamilton. “The whole team is dressed up this weekend to celebrate 125 years of motorsport and our 200th race, which is really cool. We’ve got Ola, our new CEO here from Daimler, so I hope that I can deliver on a weekend where everyone is here.”
While Hamilton and Mercedes were celebrating the pole run, the Ferrari squad was left looking for answers after both cars retired early from qualifying.
Sebastian Vettel was the first victim, with his Ferrari failing to set a lap in Q1 with what was later diagnosed as a turbo charger problem. Vettel will start last in the 20-car field as a result.
His teammate Charles Leclerc didn’t have much better luck. He managed to make it to Q3, but a fuel system problem prevented him from taking to the track in pursuit of the pole. He’ll start Sunday’s from from the 10th position as a result.
“It’s not just unfortunate what happened to Ferrari today, but unfortunate for the sport too because it was building up to be a really exciting qualifying session,” said Hamilton. “I don’t know how close it would have been in the end, but they were quick all weekend.”
Hamilton will be joined on the front row by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who lapped the Hockenheimring in 1:12.113 during Q3. Valtteri Bottas qualified third for Mercedes, followed by the rebounding Pierre Gasly in fourth. Kimi Raikkonen qualified fifth in for his best starting position of the year.
The Haas of Romain Grosjean, McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr., Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and Leclerc completed the top-10.