Mercedes racer and three-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton has now drawn level with Michael Schumacher in the all-time pole positions list.
Hamilton was incredibly quick all through qualifying for the Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps, and held onto P1 after the first laps in Q3.
But, he managed to find even more pace on his last attempt, trimming several tenths off his time with a 1:42.553 to claim pole for Sunday’s race.
It now means he has the same number of pole positions as seven-time F1 champion Schumacher, with 68 in total.
Hamilton also broke the Spa track record with his final Q3 lap, a trend we’ve seen quite often with these monstrous new 2017 F1 cars.
HAM (on equalling MSC): "I had the privilege of racing with Michael… I'm honoured to be up there on poles with him" #Quali #BelgianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/2ebL4iJ9Z6
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 26, 2017
On the grid before the top three interviews, Ross Brawn shared a message of congratulations from the Schumacher family to Hamilton, who looked pretty emotional afterwards.
He’ll start with his title rival Sebastian Vettel alongside him, after the Ferrari driver improved from P5 to P2 with his last lap in the final moments of the session.
Valtteri Bottas was P3, with Kimi Raikkonen P4 after backing off on his last lap and complaining of a vibration – disappointing, as the Finn had looked pretty damn quick in practice.
Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo were a little way further back in fifth and sixth, with Nico Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon next.
Jolyon Palmer looked in good form at Spa but despite making it to Q3, he wasn’t able to complete a lap after pulling off with a load of smoke pouring from the back of his car.
McLaren’s Fernando Alonso screamed “NO POWER” after he was knocked out of qualifying in Q2. He was P11 after backing off on his last lap, despite a slipstream boost from his team-mate.
INITIAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF QUALIFYING): Confirmation of an incredible performance by @LewisHamilton #Quali #BelgianGP 🇧🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/PkzPT5BIVo
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 26, 2017
The results of qualifying are above, but remember, quite a few people (Felipe Massa, Marcus Ericsson, Pascal Wehrlein) have five-place grid drops.
Daniil Kvyat has a 20-place penalty for engine component changes and Stoffel Vandoorne has a 65-place penalty – no, we’re not joking.
