Lewis Hamilton admits he could only sit back and watch as Sebastian Vettel romped to victory at the Belgian GP on Sunday.
After rain in Q3 had allowed the Mercedes driver to claim a record fifth pole at Spa 24 hours before, the first attack by his championship rival was enough as the Ferrari streaked past the Briton on the Kemmel Straight.
Despite a half-chance into the Bus Stop chicane at the Safety Car restart, the rest of the race would be easy pickings for Vettel as he went on to take the checkered flag by 11 seconds.
“They just blitzed us today, there’s not really another way of saying it,” Hamilton conceded afterwards. “I did everything I could in the race but he drove past me like I wasn’t even there on the straight.
“He had the perfect gap between me and him going into Eau Rouge, here’s just not anything I can do to stop it.”
Offering his view on the race-defining move, Vettel also suggested it couldn’t have gone better.
“I had a great start and then I am not sure Lewis saw me, he pushed me quite far to the left, but I knew my chance would be later on, up the hill,” he explained.
“I think I timed it well. Obviously, last year I was always ending up short. It seems like it was better this year because we had a little bit less [rear] wing and timing is crucial.
“I managed that perfectly, I thought, but then the Force India came as well but as soon as I was ahead I was quite relieved.”
Ferrari’s engine advantage is likely to be even more influential next weekend at Monza, the fastest circuit on the calendar, and looking longer-term Hamilton acknowledges Mercedes need to respond if they want to stay in the championship fight.
“We came here with an upgrade, but unfortunately Ferrari were able to match us and even go faster. We’ve got to find more performance and improve on the areas where they’re currently stronger than us,” he said.
“But the battle continues and for the sport, this is really exciting. We will keep pushing.”
After Spa, the gap now sits at 17 points in Hamilton’s favour with eight races to go.
