Reigning Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton praised his Mercedes team for its effort on a weekend during which he accrued a massive 55-place grid penalty for the use of extra power unit components. Heading into the weekend, Hamilton knew he would be fighting an uphill battle from the back of the grid and that his 19-point lead in the championship over Nico Rosberg would likely be cut significantly after tomorrow’s grand prix. “Firstly, the team have done an incredible job -- the guys and girls back at Brixworth building the engines and then everyone here who’ve been kitting and fitting them -- so a huge thank you to them,” said Hamilton. “To bring a new engine here, take it out after FP1, put another new one in for FP2, then do the same again before FP3 was just an unbelievable job. I have a massive 55-place grid penalty today -- but I also now have three new engines in the pool for the season, which is positive. “In terms of today, it was definitely a weird qualifying session for me. There was no point in showing my pace. It was all about race preparation. The key for me is making sure I come out of tomorrow having lost the fewest points possible – and that meant having as many fresh sets of tires available as possible and making sure the car was set up well.” “There will be lots of pit stops and who knows what else. I’m going to have to battle my way through the traffic -- but I’ll give it my best as always and see where I end up.” Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Toto Wolff complimented the three times champion on his approach towards a difficult weekend. “Lewis did the perfect job as well in totally different circumstances,” said Wolff. “He has taken a very positive approach to the challenge this weekend and has been very clear about focusing all his practice work on the race. He did the minimum today but this leaves him fresh tires and the most strategic options for the race, which was the right choice.”