Why Lewis Hamilton reckons he 'could have got pole' in Belgian GP qualifying

Lewis Hamilton believes he could have claimed pole position at the F1 Belgian Grand Prix if he had a spare set of intermediate tyres. 

The seven-time world champion will start third on the grid, behind soon-to-be Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, and ahead of the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

World champion Max Verstappen has dominated the weekend so far and was quickest in a wet qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps. But the Red Bull driver will drop to 11th on the grid when a 10-place penalty is applied for exceeding his power unit allocation.

Hamilton was less than a tenth slower than Leclerc and reckons he could have beaten the Monegasque's time if he had a fresh set of intermediates at the end of Q3. 

"I was comfortable, always comfortable in these conditions," Hamilton said after qualifying. 

"I do think we could have been further up if we got timing perfect in that last stint but we nearly didn’t get through Q1, not through true pace it was just because they brought me in, and then at the end we only had one set of tyres and the three guys ahead had another set." 

Hamilton added: “When I looked at my theoretical time I should have been second, but I think if I had another tyre at the end I could have got pole but it’s all ifs and buts." 

Asked if there was any sense of relief that Mercedes’ pace returned after changing his floor overnight, Hamilton replied: “There’s no relief, it was a relief for me because it’s raining.

“We were a second off yesterday so maybe we would have been seven tenths off today but we wouldn’t have been fighting for the top three.”

The 39-year-old Briton moved to downplay Mercedes’ chances of contending for a podium, admitting it will be "tough" to keep the quicker McLarens and Verstappen's Red Bull behind. 

“There’s a slight chance we could maybe fight for a podium but I think it’s going to be tough,” he said.

“We have the McLarens behind, [a] quick Red Bull ahead, and another quick Red Bull that’s going to come through, and the Ferrari is just there with us in terms of performance.

"I think the race pace was strong for the other guys, I’m hoping the changes we have made overnight put the car in a slightly better place and it’ll be how I drive it tomorrow that will really seal the deal, or go backwards.”