Before this weekend, Monaco was one of just three 2015 circuits at which Lewis Hamilton had never claimed a Grand Prix pole - but after issues at the start of qualifying, he pulled it together to end that run in some style. The secret? According to the Briton, it was all about a change of approach...
Q: Lewis, it took a while for you to claim a maiden Grand Prix pole here - and your first since GP2 in 2006. Why now?
Lewis Hamilton: Good question. I think I had a slightly different approach this weekend. Not that I haven’t been quick here before, but there were always two or three places that I wasn’t getting right. I went into this weekend with the sole objective to fix those weaknesses and used all the practice sessions to do so. Finally I’ve got it. I went out in Q1 and Q2 to see that I was quicker in these areas – and it worked! (laughs)
Q: It seemed that you lost a bit in Q2 - what did you change in Q3 to get back on track in terms of securing pole?
Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W06 at Formula One World Championship, Rd6, Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying, Monte-Carlo, Monaco, Saturday 23 May 2015.
Not that I haven’t been quick here before, but there were always two or three places that I wasn’t getting right...
Lewis Hamilton
LH: As funny as it may sound, Q3 was the only smooth session that I had. The two others weren’t clean sessions in terms of traffic and everything coming together. The danger in such a situation is that if you don’t get into the right rhythm in Q1 and Q2 it is almost impossible to bend it in Q3. Basically I had to press the reset button and just focus on preparing the tyres. And then you go!
Q: You said before that you want to strive for perfection this weekend. What else can we expect then from you?
LH: You really never have the perfect weekend. But pole and a win would be the closest thing to that. In a perfect weekend you ace every session. But as I said pole and the win - that would be good enough for me. I have always been quick in the race here but sometimes I have not been able to get by - it is hard to do so when not starting from pole and with only one pit stop. But now I hope that I can capitalise on pole position.
Q: Given the fact the start is possibly the only opportunity for your rivals to overtake you, will you approach it differently than at other circuits?
LH: Not really. At every start you want to maximise your chances. You always want to gain metres - or at least maintain your position. So I want to make sure that I at least do one of the two.
Q: Where were the places you were weak in the past?
LH: That I would rather not tell!
Q: Your time on the supersoft tyres this weekend has been very brief. What have you learned anyway?
LH: Both tyres are very similar. It is the same difference that you see in any other race generally. It was a bit tricky in the afternoon to get to the right temperature, which is why we had to do an out lap and a warm-up lap before the fast lap. But we know now how to deal with it. My guess is that the softs will go a long way. That is why I believe that we should be in a good position.
