Lewis Hamilton has revealed he spent Friday morning on Mercedes’ Formula 1 simulator before arriving at the Silverstone circuit where he claimed provisional pole in qualifying.
The Englishman currently trails Max Verstappen in the drivers’ world championship, having been comprehensively beaten at the previous two events in Austria.
His last win came at the Spanish Grand Prix in May, while Red Bull has won the last five grands prix on the trot.
In response, Mercedes has introduced an upgrade package for the W12 this weekend, with Hamilton spending time at the factory to do what he can to close the gap to his championship rival.
“I was in the factory on the sim on Tuesday,” Hamilton said after taking provisional pole in qualifying.
“We had this morning free and I was like look, let’s [not] sit around and waste time, let’s get to it, so we did a practice session this morning on there.”
It resulted in something of an upset result in qualifying after Verstappen had dominated Free Practice 1.
“They were very quick, obviously in that in that practice session, but we were just staying focused on our job,” he explained of his Free Practice 1 performance.
“I was in the sim this morning, just using as a practice session because it’s the first time we’ve ever had a morning free.
“[I] just put in the time just trying to give absolutely everything and leave no stone unturned.”
Though fastest in qualifying, Hamilton could have enjoyed a healthier margin were it not for a slide on his final flying lap.
“The second one was looking even better, but just lost the back end in that last corner,” he said.
“My heart was in my mouth as I came across the line, but I could see the crowd and it was really reminiscent of my first pole here in 2007.”
Mercedes has claimed pole position for the British Grand Prix at every edition since 2013, with Hamilton having taken six of those.
Officially, the pole sitter will not be confirmed until after Sprint Qualifying is held on Saturday afternoon (local time).
It’s a session that carries additional importance as the victor not only secures pole for Sunday’s race but three championship points.
A final 60-minute practice session at 21:00 AEST this evening precedes Sprint Qualifying at 01:30 AEST, with cars now in parc ferme conditions.
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