Friday 15 / November / 2024
Istanbul: Canadian Lance Stroll produced the best lap of his career to grab the maiden pole position and upstage Formula One's title-chasing Lewis Hamilton on Saturday.
The 22-year-old driver pulled out an incredible lap to take the first pole position of his career, becoming the first Canadian to take P1 since Jacques Villeneuve in the 1997 European Grand Prix. "It's such a great way to bounce back after a few rough weeks. I'm a bit lost for words. It was such a crazy session - it's been a crazy day since this morning," Formula One official website quoted Stroll as saying.
"In these wet conditions, it was just so slippery the whole way through qualifying. It was really just about being on the right tyre at the right time in the end there. We got on the intermediate at the end in Q3," he further said.
"I had one lap to deliver it at the end of qualifying, and I felt like I had the confidence in the car and the consistency in my driving to do it, and at the end of the session, I really pieced my lap together quite nicely, didn't make any mistakes, and I'm sitting here on pole position," Stroll added.
Renault's Daniel Ricciardo slotted into fifth for the second consecutive race, ahead of championship leader Lewis Hamilton.
Mercedes struggled throughout in the wet conditions, and never really looked like they were a threat for pole position. Hamilton's sixth was his worst qualifying performance since Germany 2018 with teammate Valtteri Bottas ninth.
