Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) (AFP)
"For Chadwick Boseman": Lewis Hamilton took pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix, his fifth out of seven in 2020 and the 93rd of his career, Saturday at Spa-Francorchamps, and dedicated it to the actor who embodied the black superhero from "Black Panther".
"It's a special pole for me," said the Briton, the first black driver in F1 history. “I woke up to hear the sad news of Chadwick's death. 2020 was already tough and this announcement really rocked me. It wasn't easy to refocus but I knew I had to take the trail and drive perfectly. "
Standing in his car after qualifying, the Mercedes driver bowed his head and crossed his forearms in front of his chest, reproducing the salute of the character played by Boseman, who died of cancer at the age of 43 years.
"I remember the release of + Black Panther +" in 2018, he then recounted. "I'm a huge fan of Marvel (the superhero franchise, editor's note) and knowing how Hollywood has been for a very long time, seeing the first black superhero, everyone was so proud."
“This under-representation is something so common,” continued Hamilton, who advocates for more diversity in F1 and has convinced his sport to protest racism before every GP this season. "Just to see someone achieve it and be such a powerful figure (...), it's amazing, an honor and an inspiration. Especially for a young black man looking up and seeing this. I believe his legacy will live on. . "
- Renault surpasses itself -
In the drivers' standings, the Briton, who is aiming for a seventh world title this season, like Michael Schumacher, is 37 units ahead of the Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and the Finnish Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) by 43 lengths.
Among manufacturers, the Black Arrows are 86 points ahead of Red Bull, second, and 158 over Racing Point, third.
On the starting grid on Sunday at 3.10 p.m., Hamilton will share the first row with Bottas, whom he edged half a second in qualifying.
Closer than ever this season to the second Mercedes (just 15/1000), Verstappen will start in the second row alongside his former Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo (Renault).
With the sixth place of the French Esteban Ocon, it is the best "qualifying" for the tricolor manufacturer since his return to F1 in 2016.
- Ferrari collapses -
A year after taking the first two places on the grid and winning with Charles Leclerc, it's a whole different scenario for Ferrari, which has a terrible performance deficit: the Monegasque is 13th and his German teammate Sebastian Vettel 14th.
It's the worst qualifying for the Scuderia since the 2012 Australian GP and bodes very badly before moving to Italy for the next two weeks, to Monza and Mugello.
There was no miracle either for Frenchman Romain Grosjean, 17th in his Ferrari-powered Haas. The other tricolor Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) is 12th.
If the rain which has threatened the Ardennes circuit since Friday has spared qualifying, it is much more likely to fall during the race, which could produce some surprises ... even if Hamilton and Verstappen are among the most skillful in the race. These conditions.
Before setting off, F1 will pay tribute with a minute of silence to Frenchman Anthoine Hubert, Formula 2 driver who died in an accident last year at Spa-Francorchamps, as the GP curtain raiser.
A first minute of silence was observed on Saturday before the F2 race, in the presence of Hubert's mother, the pilots, including the American Juan Manuel Correa seriously injured in the crash, team managers and the main figures of the two championships.
© 2020 AFP