Despite failing to convert it into a win, Lewis Hamilton says that his qualifying performance on Saturday was the best he has been in a year.

The Briton grabbed pole with a sensational lap, and although he failed to set a purple in any of the three sectors, he crossed the line 0.003s up on Max Verstappen to claim his first pole position since Jeddah 2021.

Despite a great start, by Turn 3 Hamilton had dropped to fourth, losing out to Max Verstappen and Lando Norris in Turn 1, then being passed by Oscar Piastri in a bold move going into the third corner.

From then on, much like Max Verstappen up front, it was an afternoon cruise for the Briton, but for different reasons, his Mercedes simply not having the pace.

Finishing fourth, the seven-time champ still regarded the weekend as a success.

"I haven't been at my best for over a year," he subsequently admitted. "Yesterday felt like it felt like it was me being back to my best."

Battling with Verstappen a distant dream, despite the promise of Saturday, Hamilton had hoped to mix it with the McLarens in the fight for the remaining podium positions but it was not to be.

"It's obvious we're not the quickest, we don't have the quickest car," he said. "I'm really proud of myself and the job that we did yesterday to get pole position to out-perform the world champion and the other two cars that were quicker than us.

"Today is reality," he added. "The reality is we are not fast enough. They already told me in strategy this morning I would be at least five tenths slower than the Red Bull so the fight is not with Max.

"We were hoping we could fight the McLarens but the McLaren was too quick," he sighed.

"I think we may have been third with a better start, but fourth is OK."

Floor damage curtailed Oscar Piastri's podium hopes, leaving Hamilton to hunt down Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull, but without success.

"We were too slow in the first two stints," he said. "The balance was just not good, the car was just slow. The balance picked up a lot at the end and all of a sudden I was able to apply the pressure, but it was too late."

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