LEWIS HAMILTON ON POLE
McLaren ace ready to go for glory in Japan
LEWIS HAMILTON stormed to pole position for tomorrow's Japanese Grand Prix and then vowed to keep up maximum pace in his race for the title.
The McLaren driver recorded a best lap of 1min 18.404sec to claim front place on the grid ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.
Even better for the 23-year-old was that Ferrari's Felipe Massa, seven points behind Hamilton in the driver standings, could only manage fifth place.
Hamilton can afford not to win in the remaining races and still secure the title but he stressed he will not change anything as he looks to become the youngest-ever Formula One world champion.
“I am approaching the races exactly the same as I have this season. I don’t need to change anything, just keep the car on the road and score some good points,” he said.
“We are in the perfect position to take a step forward and score as many points as we can.
“It is going to be a tough race, we don’t know what the weather is going to be like but have to focus on our job and try and score as many points as we can.
“The team have done a phenomenal job, without them we wouldn’t be here.
“We had very good pace here and starting in front of the Ferraris is great. If tomorrow we can push forward with the strategy we have we should be okay.”
Raikkonen is almost certain to relinquish his title this season, despite being still in the hunt mathematically.
However, the Finn admitted he was just happy to be back on the front row again in a grand prix.
“It is nice to be back,” said Raikkonen.
“We want to win the world championship as a team and we will see what we can do.
“If we can win it would be nice but if not we will try to get maximum points.”
Heikki Kovalainen completed a good qualifying session for McLaren and will start third on the grid tomorrow while Renault’s Fernando Alonso followed up his win in Singapore to take fourth.
Massa, meanwhile, will have a lot of work to do to deny Hamilton moving closer to the world championship after failing to post a quick time in Q3.
Having looked sharp in the previous two sessions the Brazilian could only manage a time of 1:18.874.
“I’m surprised as he looked quick in Q1 and Q2,” said Hamilton of his rival.
“I don’t know the reasons for it, maybe he made a mistake but there is still no doubt he will have a strong race.”
FULL GRID
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1min 18.404secs, 2 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:18.644, 3 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:18.821, 4 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:18.852, 5 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:18.874, 6 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:18.979, 7 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:19.026, 8 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:19.118, 9 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:19.638, 10 Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:20.167, 11 David Coulthard (Gbr) Red Bull 1:18.187, 12 Nelson Piquet Jr. (Bra) Renault 1:18.274, 13 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:18.354, 14 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:18.594, 15 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:18.672, 16 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:18.835, 17 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 1:18.882, 18 Jenson Button (Gbr) Honda 1:19.100, 19 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:19.163, 20 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:19.910
This article has 5 comments
It is blatantly obvious that The FIA and Max Mosley are Ferrari supporters and we all know that this should be not so, as they are the governing body. I noticed that in a recent interview for television at the FIA headquarters in Paris, that M.M. had a model of an F1 car on his desk, and what team was it, Ferrari. I wish Lewis and Mclaren all the best for this years championship. If they do manage to win, it will be because of Lewis's skill backed by a great team, good luck.
By Richard Chamberlain. Posted October 18 2008 at 11:47 AM.
I LOVE FOREVER!!!
By Eszter Jencski. Posted October 14 2008 at 8:20 AM.
Note to the editors ;- I'll be looking for my comments - we'll see how far F1 and Ferrari have control
By Nick Cripps. Posted October 13 2008 at 12:51 AM.
Lewis, if you were a Ferrari driver you would be going for your second championship. Do the sport a favour and walk away for next year. We need people like you for the best interests of motor racing, but results now have very little to do with who is the best driver. I watch the races every time, I am a true English supporter, but they wont let you win it. I really do hope you win the World Title, but I shan't be watching. We've all seen Ferrari drivers and teams make mistakes which you would have been penalised for, but they get nothing against them. Its very obvious that the top few people who make £millions, you know who I'm talking about, are controling everything, right down to who wins the championship - both drivers and manufacturers. This isn't sport, its blatant, utter greed. I really wish you all the best, but if you win, its because you have been allowed to. Good-bye F1, your'e a joke.
By Nick Cripps. Posted October 13 2008 at 12:47 AM.
i love lewis hamilton i love watching him drive i think he is fantastic and a brilliant driver come on lewis i know you can win the championship its urs xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
By kimlouise. Posted October 12 2008 at 7:32 PM.