Hamilton on fight with Red Bull: 'Felt reminiscent of times of last year'

"I mean I was fighting for it. It was really such a positive feeling to come from a difficult weekend, a difficult result. The car has completely transformed this weekend just because of the different type of track. To be fighting with only a tenth between us and a Red Bull, it felt very reminiscent of times of last year", Hamilton begins, speaking to Sky Sports.

At Spa, Mercedes were nowhere to be seen in the fight with Red Bull Racing, but at Zandvoort the team were closer. Unfortunately, Hamilton and team-mate George Russell were unable to complete their final fast lap in Q3 due to Sergio Perez's crash. Hamilton is not sure if pole position would have been possible, but second position was certainly an option according to the Briton.

Hamilton: "I was fighting for the front row

" I was really hoping that maybe I could make that little difference and maybe get ahead. In the end I was up, but not enough to be pole, probably not, but definitely fighting for the front row. Either way, we’re close and I hope we can fight these guys tomorrow in the race. It’s a difficult race to overtake, as you’ve seen in the past, but we’ve got nothing to lose, we’ve got to give everything tomorrow". the Mercedes driver continues.

In general, the Mercedes have not been as strong in qualifying this season, but have managed to come back in the race. Hamilton will be hoping to be even stronger on Sunday. After his retirement at Spa, he hopes to finish the race. The seven-times world champion does not expect a lot of overtaking, it will mainly come down to strategy.