Hamilton: 'Verstappen didn't have to push too hard'

After a great qualifying session on his home circuit, Lewis Hamilton failed to maintain pole position during the sprint race. A bad start forced the world champion to make room for Max Verstappen.

During the FIA press conference, Hamilton is asked what he can do to beat Verstappen in the race.

"I think Max had a lot of pace in him today and I don’t think he was particularly having to push too hard, and we were flat-out. Tomorrow’s going to be tough. If I can try somehow to keep up with them through the stints, maybe we can apply pressure through strategy – but we’re not going to be overtaking them on the track: they’re just too fast. So, we play the long game hopefully."

Hamilton did not enjoy sprint race

Whether he enjoyed sprint qualifying? "I can’t say I particularly enjoyed it too much – but it’s nice to have more races for sure." Hamilton was also unhappy about his start. "We have a target position that you have to hit with your clutch and that’s what the goal is always to be on target, and I was on target, so I did what I was supposed to do but it didn’t deliver, for whatever reason. I don’t know why."

"I had a lot of wheelspin and the rest is history. I was obviously trying everything to get by. They were just too quick. They were just too fast today," Hamilton said.