Hamilton knows he still has work to do: "Need to bring out the lion tomorrow"
F1 News
Over the last two months, Max Verstappen has been piling pressure onto Lewis Hamilton. Until this weekend's British Grand Prix, the seven-time World Champion hadn't topped a qualifying session for over two months. An emotional Hamilton reflected on his sprint race pole.
Hard work
Red Bull Racing are on a hot winning streak. Verstappen won back-to-back races in Austria, as well as victory in the French Grand Prix. Hamilton has been working hard to close the gap.
"So overwhelming. We've been working so hard I am telling you. We've been putting so much effort in, here at the track, back at the factory, on the simulator. Really trying to stay centred to get everything we can out of this car," Hamilton told Sky Sports.
Verstappen topped FP1 by some distance. The Dutchman was almost eight tenths faster than Hamilton.
"They [Red Bull] were so quick this morning, it was not worrying, but disappointing seeing such a big gap. But I was just hopeful, made some changes and the car felt great in qualifying. I knew it was good, but he was still four-tenths faster in Q1," Hamilton added.
Work left to do
Hamilton's P1 doesn't mean he'll start from pole position in Sunday's British Grand Prix. A 100km dash in Saturday's race will determine the grid for the race. The 36-year-old still has plenty of work left to do.
"Now we have a lot of work to do tomorrow. With my head up and all guns blazing. I need to bring out the lion tomorrow. We have the long run practice in P2 tomorrow. We will see," Hamilton added.