Photo: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
Mercedes shocked much of the grid on Saturday, putting in a superb performance to qualify second and third for the Australian Grand Prix.
Although he has been out-qualified by his team-mate at each of the first three races, Lewis Hamilton held a very positive outlook headed into Sunday’s race.
“I’m so happy with this. This is totally unexpected. Really, really proud of the team. George did a fantastic job today, so for us to be up in the two front rows is honestly a dream for us.
“My second lap wasn’t as good as the first one. I did gain a little bit of time in the last sector, but ultimately lost out a little bit at the beginning of the lap.”
Having made it through to Q3 in seventh place, you would have been forgiven for expecting a similar result in the final Qualifying session. But, the Silver Arrows defied the odds to have both cars in the top three.
Hamilton fell just short of what would have been his 175th front row start in the sport, but remains heavily focused on the outcome of the race, where the points are won.
”I’m not disappointed though and I’m going to work as hard as I can to try and move forwards tomorrow. I’m proud of the team.
“We’re all working as hard as we can to get right back up the front, so to be this close to the Red Bull is incredible. I hope tomorrow we can give them a bit of a run for their money, and we hope the weather is good.”
