Lewis Hamilton praised Mercedes AMG PETRONAS team-mate Nico Rosberg after qualifying for the Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi Autodrom after the reigning World Champion was forced to settle for second place on the grid.
Hamilton ended up 0.320s back on Rosberg, but hopes to make amends for missing out on pole position during the race on Sunday, but admits the lack of practice time due to diesel spillages, rain and crashes has left lots of questions to be answered about potential race pace.
“Everyone was in the same position today with the limited practice,” said Hamilton. “I didn’t get a hooked-up lap together but Nico did, so well done to him.
“It’s going to be a long race tomorrow though, so hopefully I might have a chance. There’s a long run down to Turn Two, so we’ll both be studying the line to take tonight. Maybe I can get a good start, we’ll see.
“We haven’t done a lot of laps, so I’m not really sure what our pace is like compared to the others. Our goal in the race as always is to finish well for the team, so we’ll be trying to do that.”