Hamilton disappointed: 'Now I expect this from the car'

Lewis Hamilton was never outside of the Top 3 in each free practice session in Monaco this weekend, however, he only finished in seventh place in qualifying. The Briton summed up session Saturday afternoon.

Hamilton was not happy with finishing seventh in Monaco. "Yesterday was really strong. As soon as we started qualifying, it's like. I don't know if it's a turn down or something of performance, but performance comes away from my car for some reason. And so a bit frustrating that we are seventh," Hamilton told GPblog among others in the Monaco paddock.

After once again going strong in the free practice sessions, Hamilton once again found himself outside the Top 5. "Well, I mean, it's. I expect it now. Every time I’m in qualifying, I already know that I'm gonna lose a couple of tenths," the Briton summed up the trend of Mercedes losing out once qualifying comes around.

Hamilton added: "I was driving the same through the whole through yesterday and today. And the car, yes, it was performing pretty well. The small difference between two cars, George has the upgraded front wing and so that created performance difference, particularly in the high speed. But otherwise, for some reason, once we got to qualifying, just add no more. I don't anticipate being ahead of George in Qualifying this year."

Hamilton also pessimistic about Sunday

The British driver was short and clear about what he expects from the Grand Prix. "[The long run was] pretty bad yesterday, but we made some changes, so it should be better."