F1 | Dutch GP | Hamilton praises Verstappen for his flawless pole: “He did a fantastic lap and deserves pole”
Lewis Hamilton pipped the pole position by 0.038 seconds to Max Verstappen, even if he expected a great strategy from Red Bull. The Briton is ready for a though battle on Sunday
Missing the pole position by just 0.038 seconds shouldn’t be easy to handle, especially for a winner like Lewis Hamilton. And even more if he lost it to his title rival Max Verstappen in the latter’s home Grand Prix.
The Qualifying session witnessed a superb pole position from Max Verstappen, who crowned himself the first poleman of Zandvoort in the modern era of Formula 1, in front of his crowd, who exploded in happiness. The Briton, however, expected such an epilogue and predicted the crucial importance of strategy on a tough circuit like the Dutch one.
“It will be tough, - said the Mercedes driver, talking about the race on Sunday - It's a difficult circuit to overtake but what a place for us to be racing. I think strategy will come into it a lot but we're going to see a crowd like this...we haven't seen a crowd like this in a while so it's really great to see so many people here. – he continues, - I hope that the track helps us provide a good race. It's a very, very tough circuit which is what makes it so fantastic to drive."
The circuit has been widely appreciated by drivers for the enthusiastic and competent crowd, who cheered everyone up, even if the star was certainly Verstappen.
That atmosphere. 🧡👋 pic.twitter.com/HyimQJtd07
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) September 4, 2021
“I just want to say a big thank you to all of the orange fans here, the Dutch fans, - Hamilton addressed to the 70.000 spectators - What an amazing venue, what an amazing track. I really do genuinely love coming to this country and I really appreciate the welcome. There are great sporting fans here.”
The feeling of getting so close to a pole position without securing it should be quite frustrating but Hamilton keeps the focus on Sunday race, giving at the same time credits to his opponent for the incredible performance.
“Max did an amazing lap and I was so close. I was trying to catch him but obviously with yesterday's session missed it made it a bit of a difficult day. I gave it absolutely everything but he did a fantastic lap and deserves a pole."
