Hamilton just missed out on podium: ‘A long way off beating Red Bull'

Lewis Hamilton got pole position on Saturday, but it was not enough to get a podium at the Hungaroring. The Briton had a compromised start, and by the end of the race, he was just a second outside of the last place on the podium.

"The start, the initial getaway wasn’t the worse I’ve ever had. It wasn’t as good as Max’s start. I had wheelspin. Then Max was on the inside, he ran me wide and I got done by the two McLarens. Like 2015 when I fell back from firss. Then I didn’t have the pace to keep up with the guys," Hamilton explained his tough start to Sky Sports.

Hamilton also said that he struggled in the beginning of the pace, but his car was better on less fuel. "The balance of the car was awful on the first stint. A lot of understeer. Bit by bit, the car started to become more drivable and the last stint was much better. If we had the pace we had at the end, we’d have been much better. Still taking the positives from yesterday, great for everyone. It was spectacular."

'Long way off of Red Bull'

"We have a lot of work to do, we are a long way off beating Red Bull in a race, and now we’re behind the McLarens," Hamilton said about his team's current rivals.

In a separate interview with Viaplay, the seven-time world champion also said that he expected the Austrian racing team to do better today. "I knew I couldn’t win today, so…. The team told us already that we would be at least half a second slower than the Red Bull. Also I knew a win was out of the picture, but maybe I could’ve been third."