2018 BRAZIL GP: STATEMENTS OF FASTEST THREE DRIVERS

Mercedes AMG take a historic 100th pole position in Formula One. Lewis claimed his 82nd Formula One pole position, his tenth of the 2018 season and third in Interlagos. Valtteri will start tomorrow’s Brazilian Grand Prix from P3 on the grid and both drivers will start tomorrow’s race on the SuperSoft tyres. Sebastian Vettel will start on Softs.

Lewis Hamilton: "It was so close between us, we needed 100 percent today, not 99. I was really happy with my lap and I think that we did a great job collectively as a team to get pole today. We had to do a lot of work overnight and the team was faultless with their efforts. I was really happy after my first lap, I immediately knew that we were off to a good start."

"The track felt good, the grip was amazing and it felt better than ever. It’s a fantastic circuit, they generally don’t make circuits like this anymore – it’s quite hilly, quite short, very technical and overall very challenging. The rain was popping in every now and then, so it was difficult to really tell whether it was going to be slippery in the next corner or not. That was definitely tricky, but I think all of us did quite a good job and luckily the rain held off, so we could push at the end."

Sebastian Vettel: "I think what happened today with the scales is clear, so I believe we should just talk about qualifying. Today we had some good laps and tire management was really good. On my last run in Q3, I made a small mistake in Turn 8 and that cost me some time and momentum. I knew I had to push a little more, maybe it would work and maybe not, and in the end it didn’t work, but I am not complaining, as the car felt really good to drive."

"Starting on the Option (Soft) tires tomorrow may be useful for the race, unless it rains of course: we also have an estimate of what the disadvantage might be right at the getaway, through having less grip, but it’s a very short run to Turn 1, so we’ll see. I think a lot will depend on the job we do at the start to get everything right."

Valtteri Bottas: "With the pace I had all weekend it felt like I would fight for pole position, so to end up P3 with a Ferrari between Lewis and me is a bit disappointing. I think pole was up for grabs today. I was more than two tenths up in the second run of Q3, but I lost a bit of time in Turn 12 and I was the first car going up the back straight, so I had no tow and just kept losing time going up the hill towards the finish line."

"But it was an overall strong qualifying for us as a team and another great pole for Lewis. We will both start on a softer tyre than Vettel, so that could make the start tomorrow quite interesting. Let’s wait and see what the race holds for us."