Lewis Hamilton says he pulled out the stops in qualifying for the Bahrain GP but ultimately came up short against Red Bull's blindingly fast Max Verstappen.
The seven-time world champion clocked in second and 0.368s adrift from Verstappen and two tenths clear of teammate Valtteri Bottas in P3 in the disputed evening shootout.
"Congratulations to Max. He did such a great job, so fast on that last lap," said Hamilton. "I absolutely gave it everything I had, but unfortunately it wasn't good enough."
"There is always more, but that was the best that I could do, that is for sure," he said. "I got absolutely everything I could from the car.
©Mercedes
Hard work conducted by Mercedes back at its base after a troubled three days in pre-season testing delivered progress to the team's W12.
But the step forward has not been enough for the Brackley squad to reel in its Red Bull rival. Hamilton nevertheless praised Mercedes' crews for their efforts.
"I think we did a really good job from testing to come here," Hamilton said. "The lads back of the factory they've really done such an amazing job.
"And our aero analyst, Kim, she's been giving such great information for us to be able to prove and get the car where we needed it to be closer to Red Bull.
"I think to be that close, considering I think in testing we were quite a bit behind, [was good]."
Bottas went into Q3 with just a single set of new soft tyres after wasting a set in Q3. But the Finn reckons that some crafty team work with Hamilton could help the pair squander Verstappen's bid for a race win on Sunday.
"It wasn't too bad, but obviously not where we want to be," said Bottas. "But at least starting third, and from there, anything is possible and obviously the aim is only for tomorrow.
"Of course, now we have two cars in the mix at the front against Max, so I'm sure we can cooperate and do something good."
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