McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton surprised to split two Red Bulls – Formula 1 news
Lewis Hamilton says he is surprised to see that he was able to split the two Red Bull drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in the qualifiers of the 2011 Indian Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit on Saturday, October 29.
Hamilton was at the receiving end of a three-grid penalty, because he ignored the yellow flag being waved and finished the lap without stopping or slowing down. That meant there was added pressure on the Brit to perform for a reasonable grid position of
the race. He drove well to secure 5th grid position for Sunday’s Indian Grand Prix.
Hamilton set the second fastest time in qualifying only 0.3s slower than Vettel and 0.034 ahead of Webber. He looked to be positive even after the three-grid penalty as he praised the pace of his McLaren and said that the double DRS zones is prime for overtaking
and he will not rule out a win even though the penalty will make it difficult for him.
“Really it's been a good day for me,” Hamilton said. “I'm quite surprised that we were able to split the Red Bulls, and it's great to be on the front row in terms of how we qualified.”
“Of course we have the penalty which was a bit of a silly mistake from myself, but I paid the price and tomorrow we still have good race pace. It's a long race with two DRS zones so overtaking should be a lot easier than perhaps in other places so I'm still
optimistic regardless of where I start,” he added.
Hamilton has shown good pace with his car and has recorded the second fastest lap time, whereas his nemesis for this season Felipe Massa has also shown good pace with his Ferrari.
It will be an interesting and exciting race tomorrow. Hamilton will be looking to bank on his recent good form since getting the pole positing at Singapore and then finishing second in the race. Webber on the other hand will be looking to win to earn points
so that he can grab the 2nd place position in the drivers’ championship.
Alonso looks good at 3rd grid position and Button at 4th will be also be gunning for the win, so all five of the top five are aiming for wins. It will really show the mettle of the drivers on a track that
is proving to be very exciting as well.
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