BAKU :Lewis Hamilton had thought he could be fighting for pole position at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after leading Friday practice but qualifying proved a bitter pill to swallow with 12th place on the starting grid.

The seven-times world champion's rollercoaster season with Ferrari continued, with Saturday's setback coming after the Briton had expressed fresh optimism.

"I'm obviously so disappointed," Hamilton told Sky Sports television.

"Our pace had been good. We'd been progressing, I was feeling really on it, didn't make any mistakes... it was just that we didn't have the right tyre on at the end," added the 40-year-old.

"There's been lots of positives from this weekend. I've really felt on it. I honestly thought I was going to be shooting for pole today, so it's kind of a bit of a shock."

Hamilton said he had run out of time and fuel in a chaotic qualifying hit by a record six red-flag periods through the three phases.

The Briton has yet to stand on the podium since he joined Ferrari from Mercedes in January but Ferrari came to Baku with high hopes at a circuit well-suited to their car.

Teammate Charles Leclerc, who crashed out of the final phase, had qualified on pole at the city circuit for the past four seasons. On Saturday he was 10th.

"I think Lewis was a lot more on the pace straight away and more consistent than I've been during the weekend," said the Monegasque.

"I've been struggling massively. Normally I come to Baku and everything flows naturally but this year, unfortunately, it wasn't the case."

Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur said the team felt "a lot of frustration".

"We struggled to put everything together. Charles had decent pace and was doing a good job but then he touched the wall," said the Frenchman.

"I think he was caught out by a gust of wind between the buildings and in this situation it's easy to make a mistake, especially when conditions change from one lap to the next. He was not the only one today."

Hamilton dismayed with 12th after targeting pole