Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton produced a searing lap to claim pole position for the Belgian GP at the blisteringly fast Spa circuit in Belgium, then dedicated his lap to late actor Chadwick Boseman, who died last night.
Hamilton was in imperious form at Spa as he powered his Mercedes to pole position after topping the timesheets in each of three qualifying sessions.
Hamilton’s pole lap of 1:41.252 was the fastest ever produced at the famous seven-kilometer circuit, which is one of the fastest tracks on the Formula 1 Grand Prix calendar.
Jump onboard with @LewisHamilton for the lap that put him on pole for Sunday’s race at Spa ? ?#BelgianGP ?? #F1@pirellisportpic.twitter.com/pWeafreWac
After his lap, Hamilton was congratulated over the radio by his team, but the world champion’s thoughts were elsewhere, as he stated, “That one’s for Chadwick. Chadwick Boseman. Rest in peace.”
“A superhero died last night,” said Hamilton, as he paid tribute to the actor, who played “Black Panther” as part of the Marvel movie franchise.
“I was so driven to deliver a good performance today so I could dedicate it to Chad who I was really, really lucky to meet once and tell him how awesome he was.”
Hamilton leads the current F1 driver’s standings by a commanding 37 points, but he seems to have no desire to ease up as he continues his dominant form in this COVID-hit season.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen is a distant second in the title race, just ahead of Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas in third.
The Finn said he was driving as hard as he could but, despite having equal equipment, he couldn’t get close to his all-conquering teammate.
“It really felt like I was pushing the limits,” he admitted.
“But obviously quite a big gap, not sure yet why, but Lewis did a good job today.”
