Lewis Hamilton admits Valtteri Bottas was the better man after seeing his streak of four straight poles ended at the British Grand Prix.
The home favourite was under pressure in Q3, after the Finn had beaten him by a quarter of a second in the first run, and would fall just 0.006s shy of taking the top spot as Mercedes claimed another 1-2.
Despite the disappointment, Hamilton conceded a decision in the second part of qualifying had likely played a role.
“Congratulations to Valterri,” he said initially on the grid post-session. “He did a solid job throughout qualifying and ultimately I wasn’t good enough.
“We sacrificed a lap in Q2 which would have helped get a reading as to how the car was.
“I then made a mistake on the first lap and the second one just wasn’t that great so fair play to Valtteri who did the job,” the championship leader conceded.
Still starting on the front row, however, Hamilton hopes for a little home support to claim the record-breaking sixth Silverstone win.
“It’s a long race tomorrow. We’ve got the crowd here so we’ll see what we can do.”
As for Bottas, his first pole since Barcelona was all the more satisfying, having emerged victorious in a tight duel.
“It was very good again, it reminds you why you do this. It’s been pretty close all weekend and today with Lewis – it’s good to get a good lap and get pole,” he commented.
“I knew the first lap was good but it wasn’t perfect and honestly I should’ve improved in the second run and I’m glad it was enough – it’s not easy to get a lap together.”
