Hamilton puts hopes on improved Mercedes: 'Will have plenty of opportunities'

Seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton was beaten by Max Verstappen during the qualifying battle on Saturday. With three-tenths difference, the Dutchman took pole position on the French circuit. Nevertheless, Hamilton sees plenty of chances in the race and is confident in the qualities of the Mercedes amidst the improvements the team has made to the car since the start of the weekend.

"It wasn't easy at all," said Hamilton, looking back on his qualifying in the usual post-race press conference. "From my side, I just struggled with the car all weekend. Really uncomfortable with the balance and I was making all these changes and it really wasn’t making much difference, I was still struggling. We’ve been back and forth, back and forth."

Hamilton knows his team faces a major challenge if they are to take victory away from Verstappen and Red Bull. Yet the Briton says he is hopeful of the situation: "I’m not nervous for the race, just because it wasn't great yesterday, wasn’t great this morning and then in quali it was much, much better. I think it will be good tomorrow"

Hamilton continued: "Generally yesterday they were quicker than us on the long runs so it’s going to be a challenge to follow but you know, there’s lots of opportunities tomorrow hopefully."