Lewis Hamilton says reality set in on Sunday in the Hungarian Grand Prix in which Mercedes proved that it simply wasn't fast enough relative not only to Red Bull, but also to McLaren.
Hamilton's stunning pole on Saturday at the Hungaroring offered a brief ray of hope that the seven-time world champion could take the fight to Red Bull and to championship leader Max Verstappen.
"I haven’t been at my best for over a year," said the Briton. "So I think yesterday felt like I was back to being my best."
But a fast launch off the line by Verstappen that allowed the Red Bull driver to immediately gain the upper hand left Hamilton to deal with a pair of fast-moving McLarens, both of which passed the Mercedes driver by Turn 3.
Fourth would be as good it would get for Hamilton, who managed to outpace Oscar Piastri but was unable to fend off the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez.
"I think it’s obvious that we’re not the quickest," he said. "We don’t have the quickest car and I’m really proud of myself and the job that we did yesterday to get pole position, to outperform the world champion and the other two cars that were quicker than us.
"Today, it’s reality. The reality is we’re not fast enough. They already told me in strategy this morning I would be at least five tenths [per lap] slower than the Red Bull.
"So the fight’s not with Max but [we were] hoping that we could fight the McLarens, but the second McLaren was too quick for us also."
©Mercedes
Hamilton reckoned that a spot on the podium would have perhaps been possible had he been able to hold his own at the start behind Verstappen.
"I think we may have been able to finish third with a slightly better start, but fourth is still okay," he said. "Max got a better start than me. I just got a bit of wheelspin and a bit compromised after that.
"We were just too slow in the first two stints. "The balance was not good, the car was just slow.
"Then the balance picked up a lot at the end, and all of a sudden I was able to apply the pressure, but it was too late."
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