Hamilton had been fifth fastest in a third practice session that started wet but ended with the drivers on slick tyres.

But he was uncompetitive from the off in the wet conditions of qualifying, when extreme wet tyres were the right choice for both the first two sessions.

Trying to make up sufficient time on his final lap to make it through into the second session, he was also hindered by a yellow flag in the last sector, which meant he had to back off.

He missed getting a final lap in because he crossed the line about a second after the chequered flag that brought the session to an end.

“I got yellow flags in the last corner and coming into Turn 17 there were yellow flags,” Hamilton said, “so I had to have a lift and when I came to the line there was red.

“It was very slippery and the first set of tyres didn’t work for us and I just struggled to generate the heat in the tyres for some reason.

“It’s a shame because the guys have done such a great job and the car was feeling awesome in FP3 and I really felt like we had good pace, but then the rain came. There’s not a lot to say, to be honest.”