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ISTANBUL: Canadian Lance Stroll celebrated an astonishing first pole position in Formula One for Racing Point on Saturday in a weather-lashed Turkish Grand Prix qualifying.
The 22-year-old Racing Point’s shocking result on the slippery surface ended a streak of 14 consecutive poles for dominant champions Mercedes dating back to last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Mercedes never looked in contention as Stroll, whose father Lawrence owns the team, stepped up when it mattered as Racing Point made the right decision to switch from wet tires to intermediates.
Stroll, who has returned from missing a race and tested positive for Covid-19, will be the first Canadian to start from pole since 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve.
“I cannot put it into words at the moment. I am in shock. I didn’t expect to be here, ”said Stroll, who greeted his post with shouts of ‘come on, come on’ over the team radio.
“I was confident in the car and hit pretty much every corner. It’s such a nice way to recover after a rough few weeks, so it feels really good.
“It is a special moment for me, one of the highlights of my career.”
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen joined Stroll in the front row, a disappointment for the Dutchman after topping the timesheets in every practice session, even if Friday’s lap times were largely irrelevant.
“When you are first all the time and come second, it is not what you want to do. I just hope we have a good race tomorrow, ”he said.
Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez of Mexico qualified third, falling back after taking provisional pole on the intermediate tires before the Stroll fastest lap.
Six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton qualified sixth for a race that looks set to seal his seventh title, with teammate and only title rival Valtteri Bottas ninth.
Bottas must score at least eight more points than Hamilton to stay in the math contest with three runs remaining after Sunday.
If his chances of doing that seemed to have diminished, the slippery conditions caused by the rain and the newly laid asphalt left a lot of uncertainty on Sunday and none of the Mercedes drivers seemed comfortable on the track.
Posted in Dawn, Nov 15, 2020
