Lewis Hamilton was disappointed by the gap to pole position despite a raft of Mercedes upgrades at the US Grand Prix.
The Briton had been in the mix with Ferrari and Red Bull during qualifying in Austin, but ultimately slipped to fifth, almost 0.6s behind Carlos Sainz at the end of Q3.
And on a weekend when Mercedes brought the most new parts of any team, that stubborn deficit left a sour taste for Hamilton.
“It was a really, really difficult qualifying session,” commented the seven-time world champion. “I felt so optimistic all weekend. The car had been feeling good.
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“Everyone back at the factory worked so hard to bring an upgrade and I was really hopeful that we were going to be much, much closer than we were.
“But once we got to qualifying, I don’t know whether it was because the temperatures dropped or wind or what, but the car was such a handful all of a sudden.
“I was expecting a bit more. Whatever upgrade we bring the gap stays the same. I don’t know whether they are bringing upgrades at the same time as we are, but it is definitely tough for everyone in the team.”
It has been a trait for Mercedes to be slower in qualifying but then be more competitive on race day, but Hamilton doesn’t expect to fight for victory on Sunday.
“These guys are a lot quicker, particularly Red Bull is, a lot quicker on the straights,” he added.
“We might be able to keep up with them in the corners but I think in terms of pure pace they are just faster.”
As for teammate George Russell, he was more satisfied in sixth having struggled to match Hamilton all weekend so far at the Circuit of the Americas.
“It has been a difficult weekend for me, and I was off the pace in all the other sessions, so I’m pleased to be in a more normal position for qualifying,” he explained.
“Six-tenths to pole is a smaller gap than usual for us on Saturday, and we did bring some updates here which are working, so I’m excited to see what happens tomorrow.
“It will be a race of high tyre degradation and a lot of different strategic options in play, and I think the race will be won and lost in the choices we make.
“We will need to be dynamic in how we react. Ferrari looked strong yesterday and I think we looked reasonable to them and Red Bull on the long runs, so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do from the second row.”