Hamilton admits front-row wasn't expected in Portugal

Lewis Hamilton missed out on his 100th career pole position by just 0.007 seconds. But Mercedes managed to lock out the front row for the first time in 2021, with teammate Valtteri Bottas starting from P1. Still, Red Bull Racing will be breathing down their necks from the second row.

"Great job by Valtteri and the team. We didn't expect the front row this weekend so we've got to be happy with that. It wasn't the perfect lap but I gave it my all," Hamilton said straight after the session.

Mercedes had a car that looked tricky to drive during pre-season testing. They managed to find improvements for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Now it seems as if the team are getting the most out of their car but Hamilton is still not 100% satisfied.

"We can never be satisfied, what we exist to do is to continue to push forward, I'm definitely happy with the work that we are doing," Hamilton added.