Lewis Hamilton surprised even himself after beating both Red Bulls to secure his fourth consecutive pole position in a rain-soaked qualifying session at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday. The Mercedes driver is the first Briton since Damon Hill in 1995 to get four straight poles and has set himself up perfectly to keep the pressure on championship leader Sebastian Vettel, who starts Sunday’s race from second ahead of teammate Mark Webber.

“I dropped to five, six seconds back, so I didn’t know what was going on,” Hamilton said. “But I kept pushing … I feel so fortunate to get pole.”

He had expected worse.

“When I started the lap, I looked at the screen and I was seventh or eighth and it was raining more and more,” Hamilton said. “I feel quite comfortable in changing conditions and I feel I am able to find my limits.”

Many observers predicted Hamilton’s offseason transition from McLaren to Mercedes would be difficult, and while he took until last month’s Hungarian GP to get his first win, Hamilton has been remarkably consistent in qualifying. Hamilton starts on the front row for the seventh consecutive race and eight from nine.