Lewis Hamilton was left ‘frustrated’ after a tough qualifying session left him in third place, meaning he will start eighth for Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.
After looking very fast through all three practice sessions, Hamilton was set to odds on for pole position, however, he was beaten by his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas and title rival Sebastian Vettel.
“It’s been a frustrating day for me,” said Hamilton. “I had a chance to be the fastest today and I didn’t quite put it all together on that final lap in Q3. I’m disappointed with my performance in Q3: it would have been great to do a better lap but it obviously wasn’t meant to be.
“Valtteri did a fantastic job though to take pole. The gearbox issue hasn’t played on my mind during the weekend but after qualifying, you realise you’re starting further back.”
The three-time world champion did go through Q2 on the supersoft tyre, this means he does have options to go longer than his rivals in the opening laps of the race.
Mercedes’ differing strategy for him could be put aside as the weather forecast does predict heavy rain for the race, Hamilton stated he is prepared to bide his time and see what will come his way.
Hamilton added: “I think it will be tough to make progress tomorrow. The pack is a lot closer than in 2014 when I fought up to P2. But perhaps the weather can come into play. I’ll work as hard as I can to recover and try to get as many points as possible.
“We still have great pace and the car has been fantastic here, so I know I’ve got the car to do the job. Let’s see how it all plays out tomorrow.”
