Hamilton: 'I was nervous waiting in the car'

During the final run of qualifying for the Imola Grand Prix, Max Verstappen decided to be one of the last to go out. He would have enough space to drive his own lap and not be bothered by traffic in front of him. In the end, it would not be enough, because the Dutchman made a mistake in turn three.

It also meant that Lewis Hamilton had to wait a long time before hearing that he had taken pole position for the 99th time. "I didn't know if these guys had improved their time on their last lap for a long time. I was definitely nervous in the car and that's what makes cars that are close together so exciting," Lewis Hamilton said afterwards during the FIA Press Conference.

In line with Red Bull Racing

In the first race, it was already clear that Red Bull Racing and Mercedes are close and according to Hamilton, it was, therefore, a question of how the proportions would be this weekend. "We came here and the car was feeling better already from the first lap out and I think that’s probably track dependant but really good steps forward."

"It’s a lot cooler and we are very rarely over with the temperature of the tyres. So that’s kind of brought us more in line with the Red Bulls", the seven-time world champion concluded with.