Lewis Hamilton is wary pole position holds little value if he fails to retain the lead at the start of the Belgian Grand Prix.
Securing pole position at Spa-Francorchamps was Hamilton's sixth success in a row, but poor starts in both Silverstone and Hungary saw him lose the advantage by Turn 1. With a long run out of the first corner until the braking point at Les Combes, Hamilton says he is aware of the need to convert his lead on Sunday.
“I’m really happy today with the performance of the car and so far this weekend the performance of the team," Hamilton said. "They’ve done a really fantastic job and the car has been feeling great on this circuit, and this is a circuit where if you can get the right balance it’s definitely one of the most fun to drive.
“Of course I’m very conscious that pole position is a great thing to have but it’s a long race and it’s a long, long stretch down to Turn 5. I’m just happy with today. My goal today was to get pole position and in qualifying Nico [Rosberg] was very close.
"My last two laps were the best two laps I’ve had all weekend so I’m very, very happy with them. Again I’m just really grateful for the big effort, big push that the team continue to put in to give us the car that we have.”
And Hamilton says Mercedes is well prepared for the change in start regulations on Sunday.
“Well the team have done a lot of analysis and I’ve been in the factory - the same as Nico - practicing and getting ready in the simulator. Then all this weekend we have been working on it, so we are as prepared as we can possibly be. I think we feel relatively good about it, it should be the same for everyone and I hope that it’s good; I hope that it provides an exciting start for the fans to watch.”
Click here for a gallery of the biggest crashes at Spa-Francorchamps
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