Hamilton: I don't really have the answer for it

It is a far cry from last month, at the season opener in Melbourne, when Hamilton blitzed to pole position by a whopping 0.7 of a second. This time around it was he who was lagging by six tenths and the world champions have the indignity of watching Ferrari lockout the front row for the second time in a week.

A forlorn Hamilton told reporters afterwards, "The car felt OK but I don't really have the answer for it. I think it's in the top three of the easier tracks to overtake. The Ferraris are too fast on the straight so it will be interesting."

"It's a lot hotter tomorrow so it will be a challenge to see if we can keep up with them. I don't know if we can challenge - we were half a second behind today. We were quicker in the last race but they were able to hold on and will probably do the same tomorrow."

"We started the weekend positively in practice, but the car went away from us today, the pace just wasn't there. Ferrari have definitely improved over the weekend - maybe they didn't quite show their true pace yesterday - but today they were rapid."

"We were half a second behind them in qualifying, which is why I boxed on my final lap because I knew I couldn't match their pace. It's not going to be easy to beat Kimi and Sebastian tomorrow, they're the quickest on the straights too, so overtaking will be tough."

We start fourth and I'm gonna have to fight from there. It should be hotter tomorrow, which could turn everything on its head. We'll keep our heads up and keep pushing."

"The fans here in China have been amazing, I hope they know I'll do everything to fight for them tomorrow," added Hamilton who will be hunting his seventh Formula 1 victory at the venue.