"I wanted it to be perfect, I wanted it to show strength."; Watch Belgian GP on Sunday at 2.10pm on Sky F1
Sunday 30 August 2020 10:32, UK
Lewis Hamilton said he was extra motivated to execute a "perfect" Belgian GP qualifying performance so that he could pay an "important and impactful" tribute to actor Chadwick Boseman.
Hamilton put on a Saturday masterclass in the Spa shootout, beating closest rival Valtteri Bottas by more than half a second and twice blitzing the track record.
Sky F1's Martin Brundle said Hamilton was on a "different level" - and the championship leader agreed.
"Today, some of those laps I couldn't do any better," admitted Hamilton to Sky F1. "It's not always the case you can go and do that, but we got the car in a really good place, really happy with the balance.
"Then it was just about building, each lap getting better and better, I was really aiming to extend the gap a little bit further.
"I wasn't expecting that but the [record-breaking] lap was beautiful, I can't wait to watch it back, and it's a really special one for me."
Hamilton's latest exploits came with the tragic passing of Boseman, the star of blockbuster films such as Black Panther, weighing on his mind.
After paying tribute to Boseman, who has died aged 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer, on team radio and with a 'Wakanda' salute on his Mercedes car in parc ferme, the Englishman admitted the actor's death provided him with even more incentive to excel.
"I wanted it to be perfect today, I wanted it to show strength, I wanted to be out in front on my own to make it significant, important and impactful because today's a special day to be able to dedicate that to Chadwick," an emotional Hamilton stated.
"I feel very honoured to do that."
Hamilton will start Sunday's race on pole, with Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo just behind Bottas on the second row for one of the most exciting starts to a race of the season.
After the iconic Eau Rouge, a long straight gives plenty of chances to overtake - while rain is also forecast.
Hamilton added that Boseman, who he says he met and was "humbled by" in New York, "moved a generation".
"I remember as a kid, superheroes are just super, aren't they," Hamilton said. "I always said I wanted to be Ayrton Senna or Superman; Superman was my favourite being in the world because he had such good morals, saving people and strength and all the things humans wish we could have.
"When he died, I was heartbroken. What I do remember is there was no action hero the same colour as me, and in a lot of scenarios around the world there is under-representation. Young kids, if they can't see it, they think it's not possible.
"What he did with Black Panther, it really moved a generation, not only the younger generation but also the older generation. It signified such an incredibly important shift in the film industry, and these young kids can now see it is possible to have a black superhero out there.
"It was so powerful and the film had many, many black actors in it also, I'm so proud of him.
"But that's not the only great one he's done! Jackie Robinson and James Brown; he did so much in such a small time at such a young age, and he also did it while he was fighting cancer. That shows the strength he had.
"In such an important time in history today, when we're still fighting police brutality and inequality, he was one of those shining stars that signified power and strength, so it's been an emotional day."
