Hamilton can’t explain "magic" Singapore pole lap

Lewis Hamilton described his stunning Q3 lap to secure pole position for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix as “magic”, adding he does not know where it came from.

Mercedes had expected to struggle to match Ferrari and Red Bull in Singapore but Hamilton turned in a sensational lap with a 1m36.015s on his first run in Q3 to shatter the lap record and seal a surprise pole.

Hamilton aborted his final run but with his nearest competitors also failing to find significant improvement, the first lap proved good enough for pole as he finished 0.319s clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and over 0.6s ahead of chief title rival Sebastian Vettel – who was the pre-qualifying favourite.

“That was a hard qualifying session. That lap felt like magic,” Hamilton explained. “I don’t really know where it came from but it came together.

“Naturally I want to say a big thank you to all the team back at the factory as everyone is working so hard to pull out little extra bits and today I just managed to get it just right for that one lap.

“The next one obviously I was trying to push a bit more. My heart is racing, I might have an anxiety attack in a second!”

When asked if he could tell the first lap was special as he crossed the line, Hamilton replied: “Yes definitely. Honestly I don’t think was a moment that was wide or with any problems it was just perfectly to the limit.

“It felt like one of the best laps that I remember feeling.”

Heading into the weekend Mercedes had braced itself for a struggle around a circuit that has been something of a ‘bogey track’ for the team in recent seasons, with Hamilton and Bottas restricted to the third row of the grid in qualifying in 2017.

But both drivers were left encouraged following Friday practice in Singapore and confident the German manufacturer had made improvements to its car, which was reflected in qualifying.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said Hamilton’s pole lap was “the most amazing lap” he had ever witnissed, adding: “It was stardust. That is what happened today.

“I want to say thank you to Brackley and Brixworth, they’ve done such an amazing job to make us competitive. In Singapore who would have seen that? And both drivers played their part.

“It’s the first time that we really conquered it [Singapore] in years. I am over the moon because whatever the race result is tomorrow we have made a step forward in understanding what the car needs and that makes me happy.”

Teammate Valtteri Bottas qualified fourth and could only get within 0.687s of Hamilton’s time.