Hamilton hails 'GREAT' team after Belgian GP qualifying success

Lewis Hamilton has praised his team's work getting him and team-mate George Russell out on track as much as possible in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.

The track conditions were getting drier and drier through the session, leaving the teams fighting for track position as lap times tumbled.

Hamilton ended up qualifying fourth behind Charles Leclerc and the two Red Bulls, but will start third thanks to Max Verstappen's five-place grid penalty.

"This track is incredible to drive," he said after the session. "It was definitely very hectic because it was consistently drying up. It was very sloppy at the beginning, difficult to see.

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Hamilton: The team did a great job

"Just maximising because you know every lap is going to be faster than the next lap. That's why we were at the end of the pit lane early each session. The team did a great job in getting us out and quick turnarounds. I was head down, just maximining as much as I could.

"At the end, still a good chunk of Max – pretty impressive. But I'm really happy with the result I've got."

"I have no idea [if the car will be better on Saturday]," he continued. "We will find out. It didn't feel bad today. Generally, it has felt decent. It's just the middle sector we are losing a second so I have got to study it to figure out where that is, if there is any way with the package we have, whether we can close that.

"We obviously need to work on making some improvements. I will give it everything I've got tomorrow and hopefully the next qualifying will be as good."

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