Lewis Hamilton has predicted an "easy win" for championship rival Max Verstappen in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix and is focused only on trying to "limit the damage" caused by his disappointing showing in the sprint race.
Mercedes driver Hamilton was made to pay for a poor launch in Saturday's half-hour 18-lap race as he slipped from second down to fifth, behind Lando Norris, Daniel Ricciardo, Verstappen and winner Valtteri Bottas.
With Verstappen starting from the back of the grid on Sunday after taking a penalty for a power unit change, each driver moves up a place, meaning Hamilton will start in fourth and Verstappen in pole position.
Victory in the sprint race – just the second to have ever been staged after the inaugural event at Silverstone in July – also meant Red Bull's Verstappen extended his championship lead over Hamilton from three points to five.
And seven-time world champion Hamilton fears that gap could grow wider come the end of the main event in Italy, with the Briton's main aim being to finish ahead of McLaren pair Ricciardo and Norris in second place.
"We lost a lot of points," he told Sky Sports. "I've got to try and figure out how I can get by the McLarens tomorrow, and try to limit the damage.
"It's not the outcome we wanted and we can't afford days like these, especially when it is this close in the championship.
"You saw the pace of the Red Bull. I don't know if Max was quicker than Valtteri but they're so fast, and now he's on pole, so it should be an easy win for him."
Verstappen was considered an outsider for the sprint but comfortably finished in second, though the Dutchman is taking nothing for granted heading into Sunday's race.
"I expected we would lose points on Saturday, but I have increased the lead a little," he told De Telegraaf. "Every little bit helps, of course. But it can also quickly turn around. I know all about that.
"I don't expect it to be a straightforward and easy race – Valtteri coming from the back, Lewis P4, they have a lot of pace, so we'll see what we can do against them."
Bottas' triumph came in the same week it was confirmed he will switch from Mercedes to Alfa Romeo next year, having been dropped in favour of George Russell.
The Finn also led the way in the traditional qualifying session on Friday and his sprint race victory never looked in doubt as he retained first place throughout.
With the elation of finishing first comes some disappointment for Bottas, however, as he always knew he would be starting the main event from the back of the grid due to Mercedes' decision to add a number of new power unit elements to his car.
"What can I say, it's been a perfect weekend so far and now I have a grid penalty," he said. "That happens, but it's good to see we have good speed from the car here, good pace, and I'll be fighting tomorrow, going as high as I can.
"For sure it's annoying. We've done good the last two days, with good performances and then you kind of reset completely for the day after and you start from the back.
"Those are things that are out of my hands, so I won't waste too much energy or be too negative about it because there's absolutely nothing I can do about it.
"The only thing I can do is try my best and go full gas tomorrow. At least I got a few points – every point counts for me personally and for us as a team."
Sensational Binder ride clinches sprint victory after dramatic Marquez pole
Brad Binder won MotoGP's sprint race in Argentina after a stunning ride saw him surge from 15th on the grid.
The South African beat Marco Bezzecchi by just 0.072 seconds, with his Mooney VR46 team-mate Luca Marini coming in third to clinch a double podium for the team.
Binder enjoyed a meteoric rise through the pack on the opening lap, leaping from his lowly start position to fourth and taking the lead on lap three en route to victory.
Prior to the sprint, Marquez secured pole after a dramatic day for the Spaniard in Q1 saw him go top, crash out and abandon his number one bike as it caught fire.
The younger Marquez brother rallied in Q2 after gambling on slick tyres in wet conditions to seal a maiden pole and his spot at the front of the pack for Sunday's race, following in his brother's footsteps after his pole in the season opener.
Bezzecchi, who starts second, smashed the top time by two seconds but Marquez pipped him to pole, while a late charge from Francesco Bagnaia saw him bump Franco Morbidelli out of the top three.
Binder's victory in the sprint caused quite a stir, with the man himself among those surprised by his performance.
"I didn't expect that at all, honestly my bike worked so well from the first lap and I got the most unreal start I could have ever asked for," he told reporters.
"I got really lucky [at the start] where there was a gap where the riders split, some were on the left and some were right so I could get down the middle and just chip my way through.
"I couldn't have ever dreamed of getting a start that good, so when I saw an opportunity of getting to first I took it with both hands and from then on it was a case of whoever passed me try and divebomb them straight back.
"We made a huge step from [Friday] and I was able to keep rhythm at my fastest lap from [Friday], so hats off to the team. They did an unreal job.
"My rhythm wasn't terrible, and even though the other guys had a bit extra at the end we won the race so I can't complain and I'm really happy."
GRID CLASSIFICATION
1. Alex Marquez (Gresini) 1:43.881
2. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46) +0.172
3. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) +0.858
4. Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha) +2.101
5. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) +2.355
6. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +2.582
7. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46) +2.707
8. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) +2.754
9. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +2.997
10. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +3.241
SPRINT RESULT
1. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) 19:56:873
2. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46) +0.072
3. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46) +0.877
4. Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha) +2.354
5. Alex Marquez (Gresini) +2.462
6. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) +2.537
7. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) +2.643
8. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) +3.754
9. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +4.856
10. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM) +5.143
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 41
2. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) 28
3. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46) 25
4. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) 22
5. Alex Marquez (Gresini) 17
6. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) 15
7. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM) 15
8. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) 11
9. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) 11
10. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 9
Hamilton unsure of Mercedes' Sunday ceiling after Melbourne qualifying boost
Lewis Hamilton suspects Mercedes' sensational Saturday in Melbourne may not be achievable at other tracks and is still unsure if he and George Russell can fight to win the Australian Grand Prix.
Mercedes drivers and officials had been pessimistic in their forecasts for the season prior to qualifying in this week's third race.
But Russell secured a place on the front row alongside Max Verstappen, with Hamilton qualifying third-fastest to put the Silver Arrows in a great position to attack Red Bull's world champion.
"I'm a little bit surprised; maybe they are also a little bit surprised," Verstappen said in Saturday's press conference. "But I guess it's a good thing."
It is certainly a good thing for Mercedes, although Hamilton is not convinced this means all their issues have gone away.
"I think it's perhaps track-specific," he said, "but I think ultimately there's no one in the team that's had their heads down, in terms of giving up.
"Everyone's been working incredibly hard to try to squeeze the most out of what we currently have."
Verstappen had not previously qualified on pole in Melbourne, where he is still waiting for his first win.
Hamilton has a joint-record eight poles at this event, winning twice, and added: "I think this gives everyone in the team a boost and a glimpse of hope and this will spur everyone on and will inspire everyone to continue to push.
"We know that if we can just bring a little bit of performance, we can close the gap to the front. Still, there are going to be places where the gap is a lot bigger."
Russell did not entirely concur, countering: "For sure, we maximised the job, no doubt about it, but we had a good qualifying last week in Jeddah.
"I didn't put my lap together in the last run in Jeddah and was only a tenth off P3.
"So no, I don't think it's necessarily track-specific. I do think we're making some improvement with the understanding of the car."
But Hamilton and Russell were in agreement that Red Bull, even with Sergio Perez encountering issues and failing to make it out of Q1, remain the team to beat.
Russell said: "I do still think Red Bull are a class ahead of everybody else.
"For sure Lewis and I got the most out of it today, [but] by the sounds of what Max is saying, there was probably still a little bit more in the locker.
"And we're talking that three-tenths is a little bit – normally, they're a second ahead; now, they're three-tenths ahead – that's still a huge amount in the world of F1."
If only for this weekend, though, can Mercedes challenge Red Bull for the top step of the podium? Hamilton still does not know.
"I haven't even done a long run," he explained. "So tomorrow, going into the race, will be the first time I do so.
"And I've not seen where we tally up compared to them. We have to expect they're going to be a quarter of a second, half a second, at least, quicker than us.
"But maybe in the tow, maybe we can just about hold on; maybe the fact that there's two of us and only one Red Bull, maybe with strategy, maybe we can apply some pressure to them. So, we'll see."
Verstappen takes first Melbourne pole, but Mercedes offer 'unexpected' response
Max Verstappen ended his wait for pole position at the Australian Grand Prix, but Mercedes came out of Saturday with their optimism renewed in Melbourne.
While reigning Formula One champion and season leader Max Verstappen remains the man to beat, he is without Red Bull team-mate in support at the front of the grid this weekend.
Instead, George Russell joined Verstappen on the front row, with Lewis Hamilton qualifying third-fastest in a qualifying session the pair acknowledged was "unexpected".
It could have been even better for Mercedes, with Hamilton setting an initial provisional pole in a hotly contested Q3.
Just 0.301 seconds separated the top seven at one stage, before a dominant Verstappen performance took him 0.236s clear.
"The last run was very good," he said, acknowledging a "very tough" weekend.
After finally securing pole in Melbourne, his next aim is a first Australia GP win.
Verstappen added: "I've been on the podium once, but I want to be on a different step this time."
Yet Mercedes intend to have something to say about that, even if merely getting this close to Verstappen was far beyond their expectations.
"We weren't expecting that, that's for sure," said Russell. "There's a lot of hard work going on back at the factory here in Melbourne, and what a session for us. The car felt alive.
"The lap at the end was right on the limit, and to be honest, I was a little bit disappointed we didn't get pole position.
"It's one of those things, how your expectations change so quickly in this sport. We probably would have been happy with top four, top five yesterday, but the car felt awesome.
"It goes to show we've definitely got potential still to come."
Hamilton suggested this week it would take "the rest of the year to potentially close that gap" to Red Bull, yet the Silver Arrows are suddenly back in contention.
"I'm so happy with this. This is totally unexpected," Hamilton said. "I'm really, really proud of the team.
"George did a fantastic job today, so for us to be up there on the two front rows is a dream for us.
"We're all working as hard as we can to get right back up the front, so to be this close to Red Bull is honestly incredible. I hope tomorrow we can give them a bit of a run for their money."
Absent from the Q3 battle was Perez, who is on a career-best run of three straight podiums and had talked up his title aspirations this week.
But he endured problems right from the outset on Saturday, delayed in his start to FP3 and then running into trouble at Turn 3.
Perez locked up again at the same corner early in Q1 and ended in the gravel, his session over as he bemoaned "the same issue again" over the team radio.
McLaren's home favourite Oscar Piastri, making his Australian GP debut, fared little better, out in Q1.
A strong start to the season for Fernando Alonso continued as the veteran qualified fourth, ahead of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz.
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. George Russell (Mercedes)
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
4. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
6. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
7. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
8. Alexander Albon (Williams)
9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
10. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
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