Cape Town - Lewis Hamilton congratulated team-mate Valtteri Bottas after the Finn bagged back-to-back pole positions with P1 in Abu Dhabi.
Hamilton was over a tenth down on Bottas after the first hot laps of Q3, but the Brit found time on the Finn in the last run before losing time through the middle sector.
Bottas could not improve on his second run, so his opening 1:36.231 was enough to land him another pole spot.
"What a lap, he just had an incredible qualifying, so congratulations to him," said Hamilton.
"It's the last qualifying of the year, I gave it everything.
"I seem to have lost a little bit of pace going into qualifying, but Valtteri did an exceptional job, so I'm really, really happy for him."
Hamilton also revealed specifically where he let pole position slip away from his grasp.
"Overall I think, just little bits here and there," he added.
"I think I was up by a tenth-and-a-half out of Turn 1, and I lost it in Turn 5 and 6.
"Either way, it's been an incredible year in qualifying and one that I've really enjoyed. I've seen a lot of British flags, there's so many people here today, so I appreciate it."