Low battery is a factor in Hamilton's "not good enough" qualifying

Mercedes team manager, Toto Wolff, said that Hamilton's battery could not be charged properly between the second and third parts of qualifying, meaning that it was sent earlier than expected .

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Wolff told Sky Sports F1 that Hamilton had "taken a hard time" because he was leading the pack and so he surprised the cars that were slowly rolling, getting ready right out, when he was out his turn in flight.

Hamilton said it was a setback that had contributed to a session that "was ultimately not enough work".

"Valtteri did a fantastic job, he was fast all weekend," Hamilton said. "For my part, I did not go around, so the last two laps, in Q3 in particular, were not strong."

He added: "They were not very good, Valtteri was just faster today, so he deserves pole."

Hamilton was left behind Bottas by 0.634, but managed to finish another Mercedes lockout in first place.

Despite his problems, the five-time world champion ended the session with two tenths ahead of the Ferrari ahead of Sebastian Vettel.

Bottas said his "big" gap with Hamilton was unexpected. Asked by Motorsport.com about the advantage over Ferrari, the two Mercedes drivers admitted that it was a surprise.

"I must say that when I saw the time, we expected Ferrari to be closer," Bottas said. "Plus, everything was based on trials in the winter, it seemed like a track that really suits them.

"But since yesterday's training, we are in good shape and we have worked well with the team on the direction we are heading in terms of the choice of We did a very good job, working with that and we are all impressed. "