Hamilton Takes F1's First-Ever 100th Career Pole

Vegan Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton has become the first driver in history to take 100 pole positions. He claimed number 100 in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona today (Saturday, May 8), lapping in 1:16.741 to edge out title rival Max Verstappen by 0.036 seconds.

Valtteri Bottas was third in the other Mercedes. The official results show how tight it was at the front. For context, Michael Schumacher is second on the all-time list with 68 poles, BBC Sport noted.

Hamilton, who joined Mercedes in 2013, gave the credit to the team:

I can't believe we are at 100 and it's down to the men and women back at the factory who are continuously raising the bar. The support I have, it's a dream to work with these guys.

He starts tomorrow's race from the front with Verstappen right alongside him.

Hamilton went vegan in 2017, cutting out red meat first, then chicken and finally fish, and he has since won four more world titles. He's heard every protein myth going and calls the idea that he'd lose muscle "absolute rubbish". As he told the Express: "I'm able to lift more weight than I've ever done before and I [have] been able to run further than I've ever been able to run before." He says the environment and animals were a large part of why he made the change.

The records keep falling. Hamilton won his sixth world title and opened a plant-based burger chain in 2019, equaled Schumacher's seven titles in Turkey last November, and was then named a knight in the New Year Honours.

A century of poles, powered by plants.