Hamilton topped the times in the morning session, but in the second session could not better eighth, while teammate Valtteri Bottas was 10th.

Both men were over 1.1s off the pace-setting Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel as they struggled for grip in the hotter conditions.

“I can’t, because I don’t understand it,” said Hamilton when asked for an explanation. “P1 was really good, the car was feeling great. Then there was night and day difference, black and white.

"P2 was a little bit different, we couldn’t work the tyres for some reason, lots of sliding about. Lot of studying to do to find out where we went wrong, but I’m confident in my guys.

"I don’t know if it’s set-up. It’s just with the tyres, I don’t know why the tyres weren’t working.”

Hamilton was relieved that the team can use the Friday rest day to address the problem.

“That’s something we have to study and figure out for Saturday. It gives the guys here more time to work on the car, spread over two days, rather than everything tonight.”

Monaco "might be easier" in 2017 cars

Asked about the challenge of driving round Monaco at record speeds, Hamilton said the higher downforce levels of the F1 2017 cars made it easier.

“It’s the same as before. The car is a lot better, it’s got more grip. If anything, it might be easier. It feels great. Monaco is always amazing to drive, and it’s definitely the best car I’ve driven round here.”

He added that he had no problems adjusting to a wider – and longer – car: “You get used to it real quick. It’s like you driving a normal car and then driving an SUV. You get used to it.”