Lewis Hamilton reckons a front-row start would have been on the cards for Formula 1’s Belgian Grand Prix if he had not been on a tyre offset against his rivals.
The Briton knew that the wet weather that impacted qualifying offered him and his Mercedes team a better chance of getting nearer the front, with the W15 not appearing well suited to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Friday's dry running.
While happy to set the fourth fastest time in Q3, which will become third on the grid thanks to Max Verstappen’s penalty, he reckons that more could have been possible.
“For sure, I definitely can't complain,” he said. “I think, when I looked at my theoretical time, I should have been second.
“But I think if I had had another tyre at the end, I think I could have [been].”
Hamilton says his pace was ultimately dictated by the timing of running new tyres, with him claiming that an aborted extra run in Q1 effectively meant he was always on the back foot with his available rubber choice throughout the remainder of the session.
“I'm always comfortable in these conditions and I do think we could have been further up if we got timing quite perfect in the last stint,” he said.
“But we needed to get through Q1…We came in a bit late, then when I went back out, I couldn't do a lap because there was traffic into the last corner. So I didn’t get to do that lap.
“That then kind of offsets you through the whole session because I only had one new set at the end.”
Hamilton was knocked down the order by rivals electing to run late on with a new tyre, having capitalised on the track conditions unexpectedly drying.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff in particular reckoned that others had taken a big gamble to leave it so late and rely on the weather clearing.
And he went further than Hamilton in suggesting that he could have been at the front if the team had done the same as others.
Speaking to ServusTV, Wolff said: “The pace was good. We were out early and chose the conservative route. We could probably have started from pole position if we had done what Leclerc did, namely gambled on it being dry at the end, which worked out for him.
“They [Ferrari] weren't so good in the long runs yesterday in the dry, but of course you can never write off Leclerc.
“Today they were the only ones to go out with the new tyre. Verstappen also had one, but he was the only one of the others. They gambled on a dry finish and that worked out for them.”
With Hamilton not convinced Mercedes has the pace potential it has had in recent races, he thinks it will be hard to hold on to his top-three slot.
“I think there's a slight chance we could maybe fight for a podium, but I think it will be really tough,” he explained.
“We have McLarens behind us, a Red Bull ahead and another quick Red Bull that's going to come through. It's going to be tough. I think the Ferrari is also just there with us in performance.”
