Lewis Hamilton reckons he and Charles Leclerc would have been close during German Grand Prix qualifying, without the Ferrari driver’s session-ending failure.
Ferrari set the pace through practice but lost Sebastian Vettel in Q1 to a turbo problem, while Leclerc’s charge was wrecked by a fuel system issue at the start of Q3.
It facilitated Hamilton’s charge to pole position for Mercedes’ home grand prix, and marked the fourth time this season that he topped qualifying.
“It was a relatively straightforward session, very clean,” said Hamilton.
“The team did a great job in terms of timings and getting us out at the right times, and we saw both Ferraris drop out, obviously made it a little bit different in terms of the battle that we had at the end.
“Nevertheless, I think I had pretty good pace and it would have been close between myself and Leclerc. They’ve been quick all weekend.
“But I was really, really happy with the laps from Q2 onwards, and yeah, the team worked so hard, and it’s really great for Mercedes with the 125 years celebration this weekend. It’s been a great way to start the weekend.”
Hamilton’s pole position came in the wake of him almost electing to skip FP3 after feeling unwell early in the morning.
Mercedes prepared reserve driver Esteban Ocon’s pedals and settings but ultimately Hamilton participated in the session as usual.
“I wasn’t feeling good this morning and had a sore throat,” confirmed Hamilton. “We just prepped just in case I wasn’t going to be able to do the session, I did the practice, and we were prepared to be able to put the second driver in [Ocon], worst-case scenario.”
