Lewis Hamilton was unable to hide his delight as he celebrated his 100th pole position in Formula One with the same unbridled joy that marked his first. In claiming the top spot for Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix this was a unique century for a unique driver, the first time any F1 driver has reached the century as yet another milestone fell to the world champion. Hamilton has never chased records but it was clear from the moment he climbed from his cockpit and celebrated that this felt special. It is said a batsman reaching a ton on this form is seeing the bowler’s ball “like a beachball”. Hamilton has his eye in and has long been wielding his car in imperious style. Flawless again, he beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen into second by three-hundredths of a second at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas into third. What a rollercoaster ride it has been for the 36-year-old Briton now in his 15th season in F1. He took his first pole in his debut season in 2007 when he was 22 for McLaren at the Canadian GP. It was the first time he had been given the same weight of fuel as his then teammate, the double world champion Fernando Alonso, and the fresh-faced rookie made his point decisively, putting almost half a second on the Spaniard. “In 2007 that was special and it felt amazing that I was able to do what I did back then. Here we are 100 poles later and it still feels young, I feel good to keep going,” he said. “It is crazy that it’s 100 but it felt like one of the first. I don’t feel like I can compute it right now, it is such a huge number. It’s hard to express just how crazy it is and how amazing it is.” Hamilton thought his lap here had been great but his career has been lit by some stellar poles. His lap in Singapore in 2018 remains one of the most sublime qualifying runs in F1. Threading the needle through the barriers of the street circuit, he was untouchable. The margins were enormous by F1 standards, three-tenths up on Verstappen in second and a full six-tenths on Sebastian Vettel. At the Styrian GP last year, in treacherous conditions he pushed to the limit and no one could come close, with Verstappen second, 1.2sec down. Then there was Korea in 2011 in the McLaren, with a perfect piece of driving against the odds in Yeongam. Hamilton was the only non-Red Bull driver to claim pole that season. At Silverstone in 2013 there was a similarly special run, finishing almost half a second up on Vettel, and at Monza in the wet in 2017 conditions some had described as undriveable were simply a spur to Hamilton, who rode the spray on a knife edge to finish over a second up on the field. There are countless more and he has made the exceptional look like something that comes with ease. However, his record is testament to rigorous self-analysis. He has made a concerted effort to improve his single-lap form and in a discipline decided by inches, across micro-seconds, Hamilton has become adept at finding the most marginal of gains. Nor can his success be dismissed with the tired refrain of simply driving the fastest car. He has scored at least one pole in every season in which he has competed in F1 and that includes 26 for McLaren in often a far from a dominant car and a competitive field. In 2017 Ferrari largely had the quicker car yet Hamilton outscored Vettel by 11-4 that year and similarly in 2018 by 11-5. Hamilton does not follow the numbers but when he considers them later they can only be cause for satisfaction. He has his ton from just 270 meetings and has opened a yawning chasm to two of the sport’s greatest drivers. Michael Schumacher took 39 more meetings than Hamilton to claim his 68 poles, while Hamilton’s childhood hero Ayrton Senna scored 65. Like the true greats he has been both relentless and compelling in amassing a tally that is hard to imagine ever being matched – and for the moment at least, Hamilton has every intention of batting on for more.