Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton ties single Grand Prix pole position record
By Asher Fair
Lewis Hamilton’s pole position for the 2019 Formula 1 season opener, the Australian Grand Prix, tied the all-time record for most pole positions for a single race.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton opened up the 2019 Formula 1 season by doing what he does best: taking the pole position for the Australian Grand Prix.
In the third and final qualifying session for the 58-lap race around the 16-turn, 3.296-mile (5.304-kilometer) Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit road course in Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia, the five-time Formula 1 champion took the pole position by recording a track record lap time of 80.486 seconds (147.424 miles per hour).
This lap was Hamilton’s final lap of the session, and he needed it to pass teammate Bottas on the speed chart. Bottas recorded a top lap time of 80.598 seconds (147.220 miles per hour) earlier in the session.
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In addition to being the 84th career pole position of his Formula 1 career, which is an all-time record by 16 pole positions, this pole position is the eighth pole position of his career for the Australian Grand Prix, which has been the season opener every time that Hamilton has taken the pole for it.
This accomplishment allowed Hamilton to tie the all-time record for most pole positions for a single race. This record is shared by all-time greats Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, who both took eight pole positions for a single race over the course of their careers.
Senna took eight pole positions for the San Marino Grand Prix, as he took the pole positions for this race in the 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1994 seasons. Meanwhile, Schumacher took eight pole positions for the Japanese Grand Prix, as he took the pole positions for this race in the 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004 seasons.
Before recording his eighth career pole position for the Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton had taken the pole positions for this race in the 2008, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 seasons.
In addition, Hamilton’s pole position for this year’s Australian Grand Prix is his sixth consecutive pole position for the race, meaning that he needs to take the pole position for the race in the 2020 season to tie Senna’s all-time record of seven consecutive pole positions for the same race (San Marino Grand Prix from 1985 to 1991) and the pole position for the race in the 2021 season to break this record.
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How many more pole positions will Lewis Hamilton take for the Australian Grand Prix in his Formula 1 career? Will he break the all-time record for most pole positions for a single race by adding another pole position for this race to his resume? Will he tie Ayrton Senna’s all-time record of seven consecutive pole positions for a single race by taking the pole position for this race next year, and will he break that record in the 2021 season?
Most importantly, for the time being, will Hamilton translate his eighth career pole position for the Australian Grand Prix into his first victory in the race since the 2015 season? Be sure to tune in to ESPN at 1:10 a.m. ET. for the live broadcast of the 2019 season opener at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit to find out.