LEWIS: IT’S A KICK IN TEETH

LEWIS HAMILTON admits he will not miss his Mercedes car once this F1 season is done – and branded Belgian Grand Prix qualifying as just another kick in the teeth.

Hamilton has yet to win in 13 races this year – the worst streak of his career – but he arrived at Spa-Francorchamps with an expectation of being closer to front-runners Red Bull and Ferrari.

Instead, Red Bull’s championship leader Max Verstappen has been dominant – leaving Hamilton frustrated.

The Brit will start today’s race in fourth after grid penalties sent several drivers – including Verstappen and Charles Leclerc – to the back, with Ferrari’s

Carlos Sainz on pole.

Hamilton said: “Everyone’s working for improvements, we came here very, very optimistic that we were going to be able to be close, half-asecond, who knows?

“But to be 1.8 seconds behind, it’s a real kick in the teeth.” Hamilton (below) said the car felt like it had a parachute behind it on the straights and was aerodynamically unstable in corners.

“It’s a car that we continue to struggle with and I definitely won’t miss it at the end of the year. For me it’s just about focusing on how we build and design next year’s car,” he added.

“The other two teams ahead of us are in another league, but our car looks so much different to theirs.

“So we’ve got a lot of work to do, we’ll do the best we can with what we have for the rest of the season.”

Verstappen was a remarkable 0.632 secs clear of the field – but a grid penalty for using too many engine parts means he starts towards the back in 15th.

Spaniard Sainz won a battle with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez to take pole, with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso starting third.

Sainz said: “I’m a bit puzzled to see this big [time] gap to Max and Red Bull which makes me wonder what will happen during the race – there is something there to find.

“We need to keep digging to see why Red

Bull are so fast around this track and why we are trailing them – but starting from pole is a good place to start and we will try and win from there.”

MAXIMUM EFFORT Max Verstappen was quickest at Spa