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Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton was happy to take his 95th F1 pole position, despite struggling against teammate Valtteri Bottas during the practice sessions at Mugello.
Hamilton was able to claim the pole for tomorrow's race after a spin for Renault's Esteban Ocon brought out the yellow flags in the closing moments of Q3, forcing Bottas to slow down while Hamilton maintained the top spot to take the pole.
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Speaking after the qualifying, Hamilton praised the Mugello circuit, which he called 'phenomenal' and 'challenging', and explained how he worked hard to close the gap to his teammate to take pole for the race.
As well as Red Bull's Max Verstappen, Hamilton noted a change of wind during his last run in Q3, noting how he could not improve his lap, but due to Bottas encountering the yellow flag during his last run, Hamilton repained unchallenged for the top spot.
"It's been a really, really tough weekend if I'm really honest," Hamilton said.
""Firstly, this track is phenomenal. It's a really challenging circuit and if you saw, Valtteri was quicker than me all day yesterday and even this morning, even in Q1.
"I've been working really hard in the background to try and improve on my lines, improve on the setup and with the engineers, they did a great job and the mechanics as always did such a great job.
"I got the lap that I needed. I think at the end the wind picked up and I wasn't able to go any quicker but nevertheless it was job done.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
C. Sainz jr
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Amazing how every damn race Lewis says it was "very tough" and continues to easily win unchallenged at the front. Maybe he forgot what 'tough' means for those with cars that have a 0.7s edge on every other car