Australian GP: Watch Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel clash in press conference
Written by News on 24/03/2018
Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel appeared to renew their feisty F1 rivalry at the Australian GP, with the Mercedes driver telling his rival he hoped to “wipe the smile off your face” with his pole lap.
The four-time world champions clashed both on and off-track last season, most notably in Baku, and their relationship showed no sign of improving in the first post-qualifying press conference of 2018.
Oz GP qualy: Hamilton seals pole
WATCH: Bottas crashes out
After Hamilton stormed to pole position by over half a second, Hamilton was asked to explain how he gained almost a second in Q3 compared to Q2 and denied his W09 car had a “party mode” for qualifying.
“I used the same the mode from Q2 through to the end of Q3,” said Hamilton. “There was no extra button, no extra mode.”
Vettel, who finished the session third, took exception and asked the Englishman: “What were you doing before then?”
But Hamilton replied: “I was waiting to put a good lap in to wipe the smile off your face.”
It was a tasty exchange, and you can watch the clip by clicking play on the video at the top of the article!
Hamilton subsequently clarified that it “really was a joke”, but Vettel, aiming for a second straight Australian GP victory with Ferrari, added: “What goes around comes around.
“He’s free to have a party tonight but maybe Kimi and myself can have a party tomorrow.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff later told reporters: “There is a party mode in the car but we switched the party mode on in Q3. There was no difference to the first run in Q3 to the second run in Q3. He just said he had a great lap and put it all together, carrying more speed through the apexes.”
Lewis savours ‘fresh’ pole feeling
Hamilton was in sublime form as he sealed his 73rd career pole, extracting the maximum out of his W09 when it mattered at the end of Q3 after Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen had earlier hinted at a Ferrari surprise.
The Englishman was elated as he admitted there was “no better feeling” than beating his rivals in the first shootout of the year after a winter of hard work for him and his Mercedes team.
“There’s huge pressure going in so when you’re able to withstand it and deliver what you’re expected to do, there’s no better feeling,” Hamilton told Sky F1 after his 1:21.164, a lap record at Melbourne’s Albert Park.
“To come into another season and be back there fighting again, it feels new, it feels fresh, it doesn’t feel like I’ve been getting poles forever. It feels like the first time.”
Hamilton was, however, wary that his rivals are primed to attack. Team-mate Valtteri Bottas’ shunt in Q3 leaves the world champion exposed at the front of the grid.
Raikkonen is closest while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, on the supersoft tyres, will join Vettel on the second row
“Ferrari have been so close to us,” Hamilton added. “Position wise we’re all good but Ferrari are going to be tough, the Red Bulls are going to be tough with strategy so I’m interested to see how that works.”
A wary Wolff said: “The gap was down to Lewis Hamilton and putting in a lap with the grip level that he didn’t seem to be able to extract before. Everything was in the sweet spot I guess.
“If you take the majority of the timed laps in qualifying the Ferrari, the Mercedes and the Red Bull was always very close to each other – within a tenth on some of the laps. Then there is this one outlier at the end. So from my always pessimistic perspective, we need to find out whether Lewis just got it right and it was just his driving or whether it’s the narrow gaps we have seen in the session.”
For Ferrari, second and third on the grid was a fine result after Friday’s practice sessions seemed to suggest Red Bull had replaced them as the Silver Arrow’s rivals in chief.
“It’s a good position to be in,” said Vettel. “Hopefully we can keep the pressure up tomorrow.”
Watch the F1 2018 season-opening Australian GP exclusively live on Sky Sports F1 from March 23-25. Sky Sports F1 is the only place to watch every Formula 1 Grand Prix, qualifying and practice session live in 2018. Get Sky Sports F1.
(c) Sky News 2018: Australian GP: Watch Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel clash in press conference
