Lewis Hamilton says eighth was the maximum he could have achieved in qualifying for the British Grand Prix

The Briton had finished fastest in Q2, but as conditions improved and the field switched onto intermediates in Q3 he was unable to find any grip and ended with a share of the fourth row.

"It was difficult, it is always is qualifying in the wet, but we really struggled. For some reason the tyres wouldn't switch on in Q3, and we had no grip," Hamilton said.

"The extremes worked really well, then I came in because I thought it was drying and they [intermediates] would give us the best grip and I was just sliding like crazy.

"I can't for the life of me understand why the tyres didn't switch on there. It's very, very rare that I cant get my tyres working, but I was pushing and pushing and there was no grip there. Something is not right."

Hamilton said his tyre woes disguised the true pace of the McLaren, and that his hopes for tomorrow's race had therefore not been dented.

"The car is quicker than what we did, but I didn't have any grip so couldn't go faster," he explained. "I did everything I could; I couldn't have done better.

"We're not that far away though. Unfortunately didn't get the front row but we can still push through tomorrow. From eighth, everything is still possible."

Asked whether he was surprised at Ferrari capturing its first pole of the year, Hamilton added: "No. They won the last race, and have been good on their intermediates. For some reason they can switch them on and we didn't.

"Ferrari is just quick and worked their tyres properly and so is Red Bull. I'm not frustrated though.

"I would have loved to be a bit higher, but tomorrow is the day that really counts."