Lewis Hamilton was lucky to avoid what could’ve been a costly crash during qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix, as a result of the seven-time World Champion being unable to see in his wing mirrors.
The Mercedes driver will start Sunday’s race at the Circuit de Gilles-Villeneuve from fourth following an eventful qualifying, which nearly involved a crash with Lance Stroll.
Hamilton almost turned in on Stroll at the hairpin whilst on a slow lap, due to being unable to see behind him.
Stroll dived up the inside of the British driver at the hairpin in Q2, before Hamilton started to turn in.
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When he discovered that the Aston Martin driver was on his inside, he quickly turned out of the corner.
Thankfully for both parties, a collision and an investigation were avoided.
However, Hamilton immediately complained over the team radio that he was unable to see in his wing mirrors, something which saw him enter the pits to have them cleaned.
The seven-time Canadian GP winner was actually incredibly lucky to progress to Q3, after finishing P10 in Q2.
A late downpour in Q2 arguably saved the Stevenage-born driver from being eliminated, given that he hadn’t made the switch to the Soft tyre quickly enough
A dry line in Q2 prior to the rain allowed the drivers to go faster on the Softs; however, Hamilton was one of a few drivers who continued to circulate on the Intermediates.
Thankfully for Hamilton, those who also made the switch late were already behind him, leaving them unable to improve due to the shower.
In Q3, the fully wet conditions seemingly brought the best out of the 103-time race winner, as he secured a second row start alongside former team-mate Fernando Alonso.
With Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg having claimed a shock front row start, Hamilton will presumably be confident that a podium is on the cards, at a venue where Mercedes weren’t expecting to perform well.
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Whilst a victory looks unlikely, Hamilton is certainly in the contest for third and potentially even second, something which’ll be discovered on Sunday.
Hamilton is seemingly targeting a rostrum at the very least, with the Briton prepared to give Alonso “hell”.
“We are ahead of the Ferrari’s. Max will be gone most likely, But if I can hold onto Alonso and give him hell that’s what I’ll do,” Hamilton said after qualifying, as reported by the Express.co.uk.