Lewis Hamilton had to settle for third place on the grid for tomorrow's Mexican Grand Prix and had to admit there was nothing that Mercedes could do to catch Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen in qualifying.
"These guys were just too quick," Hamilton said after the session finished. "They were in a league of their own in general up until qualifying and even in qualifying.
"To be as close as I am, I’m really quite happy with that, and to be on third, it’s not a bad start," he said. "That’s as good as I could get.
"Honestly, we had a difficult day yesterday and it was a big improvement today," he continued. "Yesterday we were much, much further back, so I wasn’t expecting to be up as high as we got
"The team did a great job last night in analysing and moving forwards today," he explained. “It’s a night and day difference,
"Yesterday we really were struggling. FP1 was OK but then once we got to FP2 it was not fun to drive, that’s for sure.
"There were several different problems on the whole car: mechanical side, aero side - mostly mechanical side and a little bit aero, and a little bit on the engine side of things.
“So big changes and improvements were made overnight and to come back in today and put us in contention all of a sudden.
"We didn’t think yesterday with that performance that we would be able to qualify on an ultra[soft tyre] so that would have been a massive disadvantage for us tomorrow if we had to start on the hyper.
“But as soon as we got into qualifying, I knew straight away the way the car’s feeling, I was like, okay - we’re in a much stronger position to fight for position.
“I’m just glad that I was able to do the job, improve on my second run. Qualifying was pretty good for me."
Disappointed though he was to miss out on pole, he seemed genuinely delighted for the man who did.
"I’m really happy for Daniel," he insisted. "He’s done a great job, so congratulations to him. Of course, being behind the Red Bulls is not a bad thing."
Alongside Hamilton on the grid for tomorrow's race is his title rival Sebastian Vettel. The Ferrari driver must win the race to stay in the hunt, while all Hamilton has to do is finish seven or better to put things beyond doubt.
But starting tomorrow's race side-by-side is ripe withy risk. Last year the pair made contact on the first lap and Hamilton was forced to pit with a puncture, leaving him finishing the race down in ninth place.
Understandably, the Briton wants to avoid similar ill-fortune this time around.
"You saw what happened last year, with the red car behind!" he said. "Obviously last year we didn’t have a great race, and I’m hoping for a better race tomorrow.
"I think it really depends how we get away, but third place is a nice place to start," he continued. "You get a good tow from the guys up ahead, so naturally I’ll be fighting to try to gain a position. But of course I’ll be aware of the Bulls ahead."
As for his prospects of victory tomorrow, Hamilton said he didn't think the Red Bull's pace in qualifying has been a flash in the pan, and added that he expected them to be equally strong in the race itself.
"I think these guys do generally have the better pace. On tracks like this, for whatever reason, I guess the Renault engines working really wel
"[Our] race pace was not so bad yesterday but those guys again were in their own league in that section," he admitted. "We have improved the car so I’m hoping tomorrow we can still give it a fight.
"It really depends what position I’m in. If I get a good tow from these guys and there’s an opportunity to overtake I’m going to take it. If there’s not, then I’m going to try and hold position.
"If we’re able to gain any ground at the beginning, then game on!"
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