"It's the best of the worst. What can you do when you have a puncture?" Hamilton said.

"It just went in turn one. I never knew it was a puncture.

"It's nowhere near as bad as it could have been. I could have had Felipe and Kimi right at the front."

Hamilton started on pole but overtaken by Massa off the line, and he admitted he was surprised at his team's lack of overall superiority over Ferrari.

"I was a little disappointed with the fact I had been passed, but he (Massa) just did a better job and it was better to play safe than sorry," he added.

"It was a surprise that we weren't as quick as we should have been. We were quick at the beginning but struggled with our tyres."

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