'Party' engine mode not behind Q3 leap, says Hamilton

The world champion had been under pressure from Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel after the first runs in Q3, but stepped it up massively on his second effort to set a new lap record of 1m21.164s.

That left him more than six tenths clear of nearest rival Kimi Raikkonen, prompting suggestions that the extended advantage could have been down to a special qualifying engine mode that he talked about recently.

But Hamilton made clear that all his runs in Q2 and Q3 had been with his ‘party’ mode activated – and the final lap was more about getting his tyres working properly.

“On that lap I was in the same mode as lap before – it was about getting the tyres in the right temperature and getting the sectors right,” explained Hamilton. “I had good sectors before but it was about putting them together.”

He added: “You would think that with the results we had through the years it would be the norm [but] it was still just an intense. My heart is racing. But I am so happy with that lap.

“It was such a nice lap. I am always driving for perfection and that is as close as it gets.”

Vettel clash

Expanding further on the engine mode situation, Hamilton said: "I can assure you we don’t have a party mode. I used the same mode from Q2 to the end of Q3. There was no extra mode, no extra button I engaged in.”

This prompted an amusing jibe from Vettel, who questioned why Hamilton had not been as far ahead earlier in qualifying: “What were you doing before then?”

Hamilton responded: “I was waiting to put a good lap in, wipe the smile off your face.”

Turn 13 error

Hamilton said he was surprised that Ferrari had pushed him so hard in qualifying, with Vettel admitting that a mistake in Turn 13 on his final lap had cost him a slot on the front row.

“Yesterday I wasn’t happy and didn’t really feel the car, but it kept coming together in qualifying,” said the German.

“The last lap I had a moment in Turn 13, tried to brake really late but didn’t work. It’s a shame that Lewis had quite a big gap, but I guess his lap was good in the end.”

Vettel also felt that with Mercedes not able to switch on its ‘party’ mode on Sunday, the battle for the win would be closer.

“Hopefully they did turn it on today so have to turn it off tomorrow,” he said. “It is close. We saw in long runs the pace is close, but who knows. Really, happy for the team, it is a good result.”

Additional reporting by Scott Mitchell