Lewis Hamilton was stunned by Max Verstappen's pole position lap at the Bahrain International Circuit. The Mercedes driver had to settle for second having momentarily set the benchmark lap time in the final minute of Q3, only for Verstappen to go 0.388 seconds quicker. Hamilton and Verstappen were separated by just 0.023 seconds after the first Q3 runs before the Dutchman went on to take his third pole position in Formula 1. Hamilton was satisfied with his performance despite the gap to the Red Bull. "They [Red Bull] did such an amazing job, maybe four tenths in qualifying," said Hamilton to Ziggo Sport. "I mean that's mind blowing really. "I was really happy with the laps that I did and I think we did a really great job in pulling back some time that we had through testing but after Q2 I was like okay, wow, maybe we're closer than I thought. And then he [Verstappen] did that last lap." The run down to turn one will be crucial for Hamilton if he wants to beat Verstappen in the race. On paper, Friday's longer runs suggested Mercedes and Red Bull were close on pace, but Hamilton doesn't think that is the case. "I think they [Red Bull] were quicker on the long run. At the beginning, and then later on [in the run] it was a little bit closer," said Hamilton. "I think they [Red Bull] probably have at least a tenth, maybe two [tenths] advantage and it could be more. But I'm gonna do everything I can to try and keep it as close as possible."
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