Hamilton: Wow! Wow! That lap felt like magic

It was the kind of lap that would have made qualy maestro Ayrton Senna proud, Hamilton defied the odds and predictions to power around the five-kilometre street venue in a 1:36.015, shattering the lap record in the process.

His 79th pole may well have been his sweetest, exhausted, surprised but fully pumped up Hamilton said afterwards, "Wow! Wow! That lap felt like magic. I don't know where it came from but it all came together. Honestly, I'm super overwhelmed. My heart is racing."

"I don't think there was a moment in the lap that was wide or any problems. It was just perfectly to the limit. It felt like one of the best laps I remember feeling. I've got to tell you, this track is epic. It’s also so difficult. It is the most challenging in the year I think – it's Monaco on steroids... longer with more corners."

"Yesterday was looking good for us, we came in today and made some changes and we . Everyone started on hypersofts and we started on softs which is a huge difference in comparison. I was half a second behind everyone and I didn’t think I could find that time anywhere.

"Then we went into that last session and it was about pulling all of those little bits from practice together. 99.9% of the time it doesn’t go to plan. I just maximised on every corner and I kept pushing."

"It's so physical here, I was shaking and my heart was racing, I tried to go further and break half a meter and I gave it absolutely everything I had. I was nervous when I came in at the end because I didn’t know if it was good enough.

"Everyone has been working so hard trying to find those extra bits of performance. It’s very special, and it’s amazing for us to be on pole given the circumstances."

"Then we went into that last session and it was about pulling all of those little bits from practice together. 99.9% of the time it doesn’t go to plan. I just maximised on every corner and I kept pushing. It's so physical here, I was shaking and my heart was racing, I tried to go further and break half a meter and I gave it absolutely everything I had."

"I was nervous when I came in at the end because I didn’t know if it was good enough. Everyone has been working so hard trying to find those extra bits of performance. It’s very special, and it’s amazing for us to be on pole given the circumstances."

Pundits were united in praise of the reigning world champion's mega feat on the night, starting with the Mercedes pitwall: "You've done it mate! That was an epic first lap..."

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff was almost at a loss for words: "Yeah its stardust… I can’t explain what happened on that (Hamilton) lap. He’s just an exceptional individual and an exceptional driver."

Paul di Resta summed it up: "No-one saw that coming. Ferrari had it written all over them. They've made a mistake, somewhere they've made an error. That could be a championship-winning lap from Hamilton."

Martin Brundle was impressed: "It's the lap of the season so far. It's what it means as well because Mercedes have struggled here. I've never seen the Mercedes pit wall, other than when they have won the championship, so happy. They're on pole position and they're six tenths ahead of the best Ferrari. That's a Hamilton lap. He's pulled something extra special out of the bag."

Lucas di Grassi sent respect the way of the World Champion: "I’ve said that before.. my opinion Lewis is one of the best driver of all time, if not the best. I had the pleasure of racing him many many times and his current form is impressive."