Lewis Hamilton ‘genuinely feels good’ ahead of Dutch Grand Prix despite having Q3 run cut short by Sergio Perez’s spin

Lewis Hamilton says he “genuinely feels good” ahead of Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix despite having his final Q3 run cut short by Sergio Perez’s spin in qualifying.

Hamilton qualified three-tenths off pole position and didn’t have the chance to improve when Perez spun at the end of Q3.

The Mercedes driver starts fourth, behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

And while a part of him was understandably frustrated, Hamilton believes he has plenty to look forward to in Sunday’s race.

“I generally feel good,” said. Hamilton.

“I’m really happy that the car has finally felt alive this weekend. And only being a tenth behind a Red Bull was a great feeling and really gave me a lot of hope that I could fight for the front row, but then obviously the yellow flag at the end was a bit unfortunate, but that’s motor racing.”

Meanwhile, fellow Mercedes driver George Russell will start in sixth, behind Perez, and it’s clear the 24-year-old is disappointed about his standing.

Asked how he was feeling, Russell replied: “Not brilliant to be honest. The car was feeling great all weekend. I had a really strong feeling after FP3 but it just didn’t really click for me today.

“I don’t really know why and ultimately it was the lack of performance in Q2 that cost me in Q3, because we had to take that second set of tyres, so I only had the one set available in Q3, and then obviously with the yellow [flag] I couldn’t get my lap in. So, a little bit frustrating.

“You can look like a hero or a zero, and today it didn’t quite work for us. But P6 is not a terrible place to start. It’s going to be vital Turn 1, first few laps, but I see no reason why we can’t fight for a podium.”