Lewis Hamilton said he never felt so good about a fourth place, but stressed that the car is not at the right pace and that the wet track conditions changed everything
Lewis Hamilton will start in fourth position after a rainy qualifying for the Canadian GP on Saturday (18). Max Verstappen took pole position, followed by the Spanish duo of Alpine's Fernando Alonso and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz. After complaining a lot about the car after the first free practice sessions, the seven-time champion revealed that he has never felt so good about a fourth place finish.
"I feel great, very happy. I have never felt so good about a fourth place, to be honest. Maybe in my first year back in 2007 when I got my first fourth place in the standings. It's a similar feeling because it's been a tough year for us and it was important to get through everything that happened today," Lewis said.
Hamilton and Russell tested different settings on Friday. The seven-time champion tested a new floorboard in the second practice session, but complained that the car only got worse. After a night of hard teamwork, the improved performance cheers the Briton up for the race.
"It was hard for everyone on the track today. Everyone is working very hard, and we are facing these challenges constantly. We worked very hard on the car at night. We went in two opposite directions yesterday to get information. George's setup was better. So the car was not good, and I think tomorrow we should be in a much better position," explained the Mercedes driver.
Still, the German team's car is far from pleasing the seven-time champion. Lewis revealed that he is still looking for a pace at which he feels comfortable on the Montreal circuit, and believes that the fourth place in qualifying came only because of the rain that fell.
"We have a slightly different set-up for the race tomorrow. I hope we can stay in this position. With this car, we need everything and then some to work out. I believe that on this track you need one pace, and this car is on another. It's not at the normal pace, so it's been hard to adapt. The rain made everything very different. I don't know if it would be like this in the dry," commented the Briton.
Hamilton will now go in search of his second podium of the season. The start of the Canadian Grand Prix is scheduled for 3:00 pm EST.GRANDE PRÊMIO follows all Formula 1 activitiesLIVE andIN REAL TIME.