“The two top teams are just in their own league” – Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton won the inter-team Qualifying battle against Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team team-mate George Russell, after securing a fourth-place start for Sunday’s French Grand Prix.

The seven-time World Champion enjoyed one of his best Saturday’s of the season, despite having had less running-time than his opponents. Hamilton sat out Free Practice One on Friday, as Nyck de Vries was used by the team in one of the two mandatory young driver sessions.

Despite this, Hamilton will start Sunday’s race at the Circuit Paul Ricard from fourth; however, his fastest-lap was almost nine-tenths slower than pole-sitter Charles Leclerc.

The gap to the front concerns Hamilton ahead of the race, he knows, though, that everyone at the factory is working hard to help the team close the gap.

“I was quite happy with my lap and my performance at the end of Q3, it was a nice lap. But for whatever reason, we seem to be a lot further off this weekend, and so is the whole chasing pack. The two top teams are just in their own league performance-wise. I’m not sure why that gap has got bigger between these two races.

“Considering I missed FP1, which definitely puts you on the back foot, I’m really happy with the progress that I made and everyone back at the factories was working very hard with us. We took a step backwards today in final practice, but we managed to turn it around. We’re still there and everyone behind me is struggling, too, so we just keep fighting.”

“Charles [Leclerc] and Max [Verstappen] are probably too quick for us” – George Russell

On other side of the Mercedes garage, Russell will start Sunday’s race from sixth-place, after being knocked to the bottom of the third-row by British compatriot Lando Norris.

Russell would’ve qualified fifth, had he not made a mistake on his final lap in Qualifying Three. Like his team-mate, Russell is concerned by how far behind the pole-time the team are, despite having brought upgrades to the circuit.

The Brit is hopeful that the team can run on a more similar pace to the frontrunners during the race, where he’ll be looking to achieve yet another top-five finish.

“As a team I feel we’re a bit further away than we would have hoped or expected, especially after yesterday. Personally, I had a good start to Q3, I was in P4 and just made a mistake on my last lap. At the end of the day, I think the time gap to the front is more concerning than the position.

“We need to understand it, as we’re the only team on the grid that closes the gap to the front on a Sunday compared to a Saturday. All the other gaps extend, and we manage to reduce it. Hopefully, Lewis can take the fight to Checo tomorrow, but I think Charles and Max are probably too quick for us at the moment.”