Hamilton stated his pole, on his forty third begin for Ferrari, was “one of many best emotions”.
It’s not the primary time he has certified quickest for Ferrari – that was when he took dash pole on the Chinese language Grand Prix final 12 months, in solely his second race for the crew.
However that was adopted by a tough debut season, when he appeared a shadow of his former self, and was just about taken to the cleaners by Leclerc.
Hamilton’s report is such that his performances final 12 months left many perplexed – not least himself. He was constantly down on himself, even saying at one low level in the summertime of 2025 that he was “simply ineffective” and suggesting Ferrari ought to change drivers.
As this adopted a equally difficult ultimate 12 months for Mercedes, it inevitably led to questions on his future, whether or not age was catching up with him. In spite of everything, he had no explanations for his performances himself.
His type has improved this 12 months, with a automobile that he finds far more to his liking, and he has a lot of occasions referenced these completely legitimate questions. He did so once more on Saturday.
“It is unattainable to rank 105 pole positions,” he stated. “They’ve all been distinctive in their very own approach. It feels extra particular on this interval the place they don’t seem to be each week and it is the primary one with Ferrari in crimson.
“I’ve now had pole with three totally different groups, which is fairly phenomenal. And all of the questions folks had about whether or not a 40-year-old has nonetheless bought it, there you go.”
The battle between Hamilton and Leclerc has been far more even this 12 months.
Hamilton leads his team-mate by eight factors within the championship and in qualifying there may be nothing to decide on between them – it’s now 12-10 of their head-to-head and Leclerc is forward on common tempo by simply 0.037secs, when the hole was 0.15secs final 12 months.
“I’ve been lucky to have many nice experiences with Mercedes through the years,” stated Hamilton. “We’ve had dash pole however I’ve been actually dreaming and eyeing for that first pole with the crew.
“Charles may be very, very fast over one lap. He has had an engineer he has labored with for years. It is an atmosphere he’s very conscious of and used to.
“I’m nonetheless settling in and studying, with new engineers this 12 months. We’ve actually discovered rapport and are actually doing a terrific job. There may be tons extra to return, we simply should carry on at it, however what an incredible feeling to get that first.”
Hamilton goes into the race with much less data than his rivals, a breakdown in second apply which means he was not capable of do his race-simulation run.
“It should will likely be an enormous problem to seek out the proper stability however I’m hopeful, it is going to be difficult and hard,” he stated.