French GP: Lewis Hamilton Qualifies On Pole, Questions Ferrari's Strategy

Lewis Hamilton carried his good form throughout the weekend into qualifying Saturday by taking pole position ahead of his teammate Valtteri Bottas for the French Grand Prix on Sunday.

The British racing driver was quite untouchable during the first two qualifying sessions but seemed to struggle a bit in the final session when it actually counts. Despite his struggles, Hamilton managed to finish just over a tenth of a second faster than his teammate.

Mercedes introduced their upgraded spec 2.1 engine for the French GP and it clearly made a difference as Ferrari were unable to close the gap on the leaders despite the Italian team being known to turn up their engines for the final part of qualifying just like their rivals.

“We have all pulled together and done a great job in putting the car where we need it, for both Valtteri and I," Hamilton said after qualifying. "It's something we have been working on for so long. And the pressure is...you can see how close it is between us all. It's really, really great to have this result."

"Q3 wasn't a groovy lap. I don't know why but l keep getting to Q3 and it's just not happening. Of course I am happy but I left three-tenths on the table," Hamilton later told Sky Sports F1.

"I was three-tenths down all the way up to Turn 12. That's frustrating. In the whole session l had half a second on everyone and with pole it was 'phew, job done', but it was only a tenth and that doesn't look good on your CV!"

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel had to settle for third place on the grid after a scruffy lap in Q3 ensured he could not make up any ground on the Mercedes cars ahead. The German driver indicated they could have probably caught Bottas in second, but was happy with P3 as Ferrari were clearly second best on the day.

"I tried to push everything in the last attempt, but looking back, I pushed too hard," Vettel said. "In the end with P3 I'm happy because the car should be good in the race."

However, Ferrari’s strategy for the race Sunday seemed to continue pole-sitter Hamilton after the Italian team went against expectations with their tire choice in Q2. While Mercedes and Red Bull Racing will start on the more durable super soft tires, the Ferrari team opted to run the ultra soft tires on which they will start the race.

Hamilton questioned the Italian team’s strategy, but was not sure if it was a strategic call or a mistake on the part of their title rivals. Even Red Bull team principal Christian Horner questioned their decision to start on the tire that suffers the most degradation and believes that should give his team a chance to make up places in the race Sunday.

"I'm not really sure why they have gone with that tyre," Hamilton said. "They must be confident. Either they know something we don't or they have made a mistake. We will find out tomorrow."