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This article first appeared in GP Racing magazine.
Qualifier of the year: Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes
As far as qualifying performance is concerned, there is no driver in the same league as Lewis Hamilton. This is the fifth consecutive season F1 Racing readers have voted the Mercedes racer the best qualifier of the year, and the statistics reveal just how dominant he is on a Saturday.
This year his career pole position tally reached 83, putting him 15 clear of Michael Schumacher, the next best in the all-time list. Lewis took 11 in 2018, nine more than team-mate Valtteri Bottas and six more than title rival Sebastian Vettel.
There were a few standout performances this season, such as finding half a second in the wet over the Ferraris at the Hungaroring, and an even bigger margin over them and Bottas in Singapore. If ever you needed evidence of a driving masterclass in action, it was Hamilton's flat-out precision between the walls along the floodlit streets of the Marina Bay circuit in September.
