Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMercedes

'I didn't have the pace' - Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton concedes he was not quick enough to beat team-mate Nico Rosberg during qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.

Following four consecutive pole positions this season, Hamilton was favourite for a fifth heading to Barcelona but was comfortably beaten by Rosberg on Saturday afternoon. Having lost out to Rosberg for the first time in 2015, Hamilton admits his team-mate simply did a better job preparing his car.

"I genuinely didn’t have the pace today," Hamilton said. "Nico did a great job and I didn’t have the balance the way I like it but I did my best with it and I think tomorrow there is still a lot to play for."

With the Circuit de Catalunya notoriously tough to overtake on, Hamilton says the start is one area he needs to maximise while also focusing on a different strategy to Rosberg.

"It is one of the opportunities and also the pit-stops, as it is very difficult to overtake here as it has proved over the years, so we’ll be thinking about it

"Every race I do I am racing for the championship. I don’t think [I'll be cautious], I think I will drive the same as I did last year as that seemed to serve me quite well."

Click here for Saturday's gallery from the Spanish Grand Prix

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.