Hamilton 'a bit surprised' by Mercedes pace in Qatar

Lewis Hamilton admitted that he didn't expect Mercedes to be as fast as it was on the opening day of the Qatar Grand Prix weekend at the new-look Lusail International Circuit.

"We've been a little bit surprised by our pace here today. It's a good surprise, and positive for the team," he commented after the end of the session.

Hamilton was only 13th fastest in the sole practice session, with his team mate George Russell just eighth. But when it came to qualifying under the floodlights, the Silver Arrows soon picked up pace.

After a sluggish Q1, Hamilton was fastest in the second round and maintained the speed into Q3, which saw him pick up third place on Sunday's grid with Russell just one place ahead of him on the front row.

"Qualifying is always difficult and today was a pretty average session for me," Hamilton said afterward. "It was quite windy out there and difficult at the beginning. We nearly didn't get out of Q1 but fortunately we managed it.

"We were then right up there in Q2 which was encouraging," he added. "George also did a great job today.

• Read also: Verstappen cruises to Qatar pole with title looming

"Being on the front two rows of the grid is clearly a good result. It's important that we are ahead of both Ferraris and that is really key," he said. "I'm going to be giving it everything to try and bag the most points we can on Sunday."

Both drivers got a boost from their McLaren rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri having their final flying lap times deleted for exceeding track limits, taking them out of contention.

"Lando should be up here," was Hamilton's verdict. “I don’t feel like we need to have track limits at this track.

“When you go beyond the highest point of the kerb, you lose time so it shouldn’t be the white line necessarily," he explained. "But anyway, it’s not for me to decide.”

Hamilton himself was set to meet with the stewards at Lusail after being placed under investigation for potentially driving too slowly in the opening round of qualifying.

Piastri, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson were also placed under investigation, which could lead to a reshuffle of the grid before Sunday's race.

But it won't affect Russell's front row start, after he managed to avoid any infringements in the night time session.

“I can’t really speak for the others [but] it’s very challenging out there. You’ve got to be very, very precise, we’re talking sort of millimetres sometimes," he told the media in the paddock.

"The grip was low, and it was really windy. It was very dusty and sandy on the track. When we went out in qualifying, the track temperature had dropped," he explained.

"It’s a bit frustrating when we go to great circuits like this [and] it’s so difficult to know where that limit, where that edge is and we need to find a better solution for the future.

"I’ve had no track limits, but two races ago I crashed into the wall [in Singapore] and lost the podium. That was sort of track limits there, so I’m not too sure."

Russell was understandably happy with the outcome of qualifying and speculated that the lower temperatures had made a big difference compared to practice.

“This weekend we definitely weren’t expecting to be lining up P2 and P3 on the grid for Sunday, so that is a real pleasant surprise,” he said. “Of course Lando was ahead of us. His marginal off wasn’t the difference for his pace advantage, so we know we’re half a step behind McLaren.

"But the car felt good throughout the session, and I'm pleased with where we finished. It's great to have Lewis behind me in P3 now. We can be strategic and work together.

"We've got our sights set on a strong result on Sunday, especially with both the McLarens and the Ferraris behind us. We know we're going to have a fight on our hands as they will be quick.

"The Grand Prix will be a completely different story if this track evolution continues. We're going to have to learn on the job," he said, adding that tomorrow's short event could be a crucial factor.

"The F1 sprint will give us a good indication of tyre wear and what the likely best strategy will be. We're looking forward to tomorrow."

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter