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Lewis Hamilton took a veiled dig at Max Verstappen after the Red Bull Racing driver secured pole position for the 2023 F1 Monaco GP.
The qualifying session for the Monaco GP was one of the more spectacular ones we've had this season. The final four minutes saw four drivers take provisional pole position.
At the end of it all, Verstappen nicked the pole position from Alonso with a lap that was less than a tenth quicker than the Spaniard's. Hamilton did not feature prominently at the front of the grid though as his Mercedes was just not quick enough to compete.
Talking to the media afterwards, Hamilton took a subtle dig at Verstappen and attributed the lap to the "Red Bull being too fast." The seven-time admitted that he was rooting for Alonso to secure pole position and also complimented Esteban Ocon for his lap.
Speaking to the media after qualification, Hamilton said:
"I'll take anything I can get. Honestly, take anything I can get. We are having to rely on others, currently, so when you have Checo hit the wall, it's like...'thank you'? Ocon came out of nowhere, he did obviously a great lap. I was really hopeful Fernando would have pole at the end, I saw it and was like, 'Oh, this could be amazing for him'."
He added:
"But that Red Bull was just too quick. But I mean, wow. That Aston is now almost on par with that Red Bull. That's phenomenal work. So I'm really happy for Aston, and I hope that we can be there soon."
"Happy I didn't damage the car in the crash" - Lewis Hamilton
Talking about his own Monaco GP qualification performance, Lewis Hamilton admitted that the car saw an improvement following the upgrades the team brought in. He said"
"Definitely an improvement. Next week I think we will get a better feel for the actual aero improvement, and we have some things in the pipeline moving forwards. But there are still fundamental shifts that we need to do for the future. Really grateful for all the hard work and I’m glad I didn’t damage the rear of the car, which is all the new parts, when I crashed and hit the wall.”
The Mercedes driver will be hoping for a strong race on Sunday, May 28, with rain expected to make an appearance.
