A rejuvenated Lewis Hamilton swallowed his disappointment on Saturday after missing out on pole position for Ferrari at the Monaco Grand Prix by two-tenths of a second, as Oscar Piastri and McLaren teammate Lando Norris finished seventh and eighth in qualifying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think maybe there was a tiny bit more lap time out there but I think we were going to be seventh no matter what today,\u201d Piastri said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe struggled with the balance yesterday. Today the car has actually felt a little bit nicer but we\u2019re just lacking grip, it looks like, compared to the others. Not much you can do about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor sure it\u2019s been a bit of a surprise. We didn\u2019t think we would be amazing here, but not as bad as it has been. Definitely some things to look into.\u201d<\/p>\n
Forty-one-year-old seven-time world champion Hamilton ended up third on the grid after being outpaced by four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull and then, on the final lap, championship leading Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes.<\/p>\n
His Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc qualified fourth, but smacked the barriers as he pushed for an improved lap in the final seconds.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was tough for us,\u201d said Hamilton.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were looking so strong in practice and we barely changed anything, but the car was drastically different once we got to qualifying for some reason.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, we have to take a deep dive into that. I gave it absolutely everything and I was as close to the barriers as I could be \u2014 and what a privilege it is to be here, to be one of the 22 drivers in F1 getting to do this still. I love every second of it!\u201d <\/p>\n
He added: \u201cIt is definitely very close between us all. I thought we almost maybe nearly had it and then Max put in a good time and then Kimi! I think it\u2019s great to see how close all the cars are \u2013 but we are there in the fight.\u201d <\/p>\n
Verstappen also congratulated Antonelli before revealing he was relieved with his performance after Red Bull had struggled with problems in the third practice session earlier in the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you had told me yesterday (that) I would be on the front row, I would have taken it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis morning, I think we had some difficulties with the car, so heading into qualifying and being up there was extremely positive.<\/p>\n
\u201cOverall, of course I\u2019m very happy with how qualifying went, how all the laps went, even though you have to deal with the traffic and of course the walls, but I\u2019m happy to be on the front row.\u201d <\/p>\n
Looking ahead to Sunday\u2019s race, Verstappen admitted to some concern about the two fast-starting Ferraris behind him on the second row of the grid.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s see,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese cars are quite complicated to start and I have two cars behind me that start well but we\u2019ll see,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Since 2006, the pole position starter has won 13 of the 20 races at the Monaco Grand Prix, but this year\u2019s new \u2018hybrid era\u2019 formula has seen cars on the second row of the grid take the lead at every race on the opening lap.<\/p>\n
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