Hamilton dedicates 'intense' record pole to home fans

Lewis Hamilton said that he wouldn't have been able to pull off his historic pole position for the 2018 British Grand Prix if it wasn't for the support from the home fans.

It's the sixth time in his F1 career that Hamilton has taken the top spot in qualifying for the event. That's more than any other driver has managed.

Previously Hamilton had shared the record with Jim Clark who was on pole five times between 1962 and 1967 when the race alternated between Silverstone and Brands Hatch.

It's the fourth year in succession that Hamilton has been on pole. His then-Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg was the last person to pip Hamilton to pole here in 2014.

But it had been a close-run thing. Hamilton had been behind Sebastian Vettel after his first run in Q3 and admitted that he had to pull out all the stops with his final flying lap.

"I gave it everything I could," Hamilton said afterwards. "It was so close between these Ferraris. The Ferraris pulled something out when it got to Q3.

"That lap took everything out of me, it was the toughest lap I've ever had to do in a qualifying session.

"I had to go over the limit to get that time out of the car and I could have easily not pulled that lap together, so I'm thankful that I was able to do it.

Hamilton's final run clocked in at 1:25.892s, a new track record for qualifying and just 0.044s faster than Vettel had been able to manage.

Shaking with emotion, Hamilton drew a blank when asked about that final push and where those vital few hundredths of a second had come from.

"I can't tell you how I was shaking, the adrenaline rush, it was way above the limit than I have experienced before," he admitted. "I don't even remember it. I honestly don't remember it, man.

"I didn't leave anything on the table today. The lap was just intense,

"I think for me it would be, with the whole build-up, the whole intensity, the whole spirit and moment thing, knowing how close we were, for me it feels like one of the best laps I have been able to produce."

Acknowledging the cheers of the crowd, Hamilton insisted that the support from the fans around Silverstone had made all the difference.

"I was just praying I could do it for you guys," he said. "I'm so grateful for the support because without you guys I wouldn't have been able to do it.

"I knew that the fans were right there with me; every time I go out I see them cheering. The support I get at this track is phenomenal; it means the world to me and it really lifts me up."

• Qualifying: Hamilton takes record sixth pole at Silverstone

Now he's hoping that he will be able to deliver a victory on Sunday.

"The start and the tyre management will be key for the race; I'm going to see my guys tonight and tell them to keep pushing so that we're as good as we can get tomorrow."

While Hamilton came out top in his duel with Vettel, his team mate Valtteri Bottas wasn't quite so successful in his duel with Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari.

Bottas wasn't able to improve his time with his final run and ended up getting pipped for third place by his fellow Finn.

"I'm disappointed - our pace was good today and it was all going well for me," he said afterwards.

"I think the lap was going well until the last two corners," Bottas added. "I went a bit too deep into turn 16 and lost a few tenths.

"Without that mistake I think I would have been fighting for pole today."

While not as good as he'd hoped for, the grid position still puts Bottas in with a good chance of a podium in Sunday's race.

"It's going to be a really hot, long race," he said. "Close pace-wise with Ferrari.

"The Ferraris looked strong yesterday already and it was very close today between us and them, so I expect a similarly close fight tomorrow.

"It's not going to be easy to pass them tomorrow, but we've seen overtaking on this track before, so there's still opportunity for more.

"Red Bull seems a bit off, but you never know - they can be strong on Sundays!

"We saw blistering last week in Austria, so keeping the tyres in good condition is going to be the key tomorrow given the high temperatures. It is going to be a long and hot race, a tough battle, but I'm looking forward to it."

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