Lewis Hamilton was left bitterly disappointed after throwing away an opportunity to take pole position for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion has had a tough time in recent race weekends where he’s struggled to find pace in his Mercedes.
But Hamilton appeared to rediscover his best form this week in Las Vegas after topping the timesheet in two of the three practice sessions.
The 39-year-old took that form into qualifying and put in the fastest time in Q2 as he looked on course to secure pole.
Lewis Hamilton was not happy with his own display
SKYSPORTS
However, Hamilton had two disastrous runs in Q3 that ultimately prevented him from completing a competitive lap time.
His fastest time was 15 seconds slower than Nico Hulkenberg with Hamilton having to make do with 10th on the grid for Saturday evening’s race.
Hamilton’s frustrations were clear to see after the race as he felt he missed out on a great opportunity.
“I should have been on pole but I am not,” Hamilton said.
“C’est la vie. You live to fight another day. But I didn’t do the job.
“I didn’t put the laps together. It’s not a stinger. I feel great. The good thing is I have pace.”
Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell was able to make the most of Mercedes’ performance around the streets of Las Vegas by putting his car on pole ahead of Carlos Sainz.
Hamilton will have a difficult task in trying to score big points for Mercedes on a track that is tricky to overtake on.
Lewis Hamilton will start 10th on the grid
Reuters
But the experienced Brit congratulated his team-mate on a stellar run to take pole.
He added: “It’s been a good weekend so far so I’ll give it my best shot tomorrow.
LATEST SPORT NEWS:
George Russell took pole
GETTY
“Congrats to George. Conditions are great, it’s nice and cool, it’s been really nice all weekend.
“I’m really quite far back so I’ll just see what I can do from there.
“Degradation is going to be key, they had an eventful race here last year.”