© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
After the Styrian Grand Prix Qualifying, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas gave their first comments on the exciting wet session.
Lewis Hamilon finished the delayed rainy Styrian Grand Prix Qualifying on pole, after an amazing lap that left his competition in the dust (or should we say water?). The Briton finished the session over a second faster than second placed Max Verstappen.
“Honestly I am [pleased with that],” said Hamilton.
“What a tricky day. The weather is obviously incredibly difficult out there for all of us, and a lot of the time you can’t actually see where you are going.
“I had one big moment the lap before [my] last, a big aquaplaning moment, which definitely had my heart in my mouth.
“But I was able to improve on the next lap, nice and clean. I love these days!”
Hamilton struggled all throughout FP1 and FP2 finishing the first session in P4 and the second session in P6. However, when it mattered, Hamilton outclassed the field.
“Yesterday was a difficult day. It started off well in FP1, but then FP2 was a big issue for us, but we’ve discovered it overnight and nothing major.
“That’s where I want to start. I’m glad it was a trouble-free session. I didn’t make any mistakes, so that’s always a positive,” concluded the Briton.
Valtteri Bottas wasn’t as lucky. Although he had solid outings in FP1 and FP2, the Finn finished qualifying in P4.
“It certainly wasn’t easy today,” said Bottas.
“It didn’t look like I was going to be fourth today. I don’t think I’ve built up enough heat in my tyres.
“Part of that problem was that my brake in the right tyre slipped in qualifying, so I couldn’t maximize the potential of my car.
“Of course that’s very important for your self-confidence during a wet session.
However it seems that the race tomorrow is going to be dry and Bottas hopes he will be able to produce a better result.
“I really hope so. It would be nice to be able to really go full speed on the track. We know the car is fast,” concluded the Finn.
