Hamilton has "really struggled to get on pace" ahead of his surreal laps in qualifying
Originally published by F1Technical
Lewis Hamilton produced one of the standout turnarounds of the Barcelona‑Catalunya weekend, transforming a difficult start into a superb qualifying performance that put him on the front row alongside former Mercedes teammate George Russell.
After sitting out FP1 to allow junior driver Dino Beganovic to take the wheel, Hamilton struggled badly through FP2 and FP3 — at times more than half a second off Charles Leclerc and nearly a full second from the front. But when qualifying arrived, the seven‑time world champion pieced everything together, delivering a lap that left him just under a tenth shy of pole.
Hamilton admitted afterwards that the early part of the weekend had been unusually tough. “Yeah, for sure. I mean, it’s been a very tricky weekend for me, personally,” he said.
“Really struggled to get on pace after missing P1. I’ve never been so down before in a sense of the gap between Charles and I and to everybody else.
"It was half a second to eight tenths. I think it was one second in one session to the front row, so I needed to make a huge leap going into qualifying, and I knew where the time was. It was just having the confidence in the car, in the rear of the car.”
Hamilton praises Ferrari's Barcelona upgrade
That confidence came back only after Ferrari made significant adjustments — and Hamilton was quick to credit the team’s factory effort. “I think we did a really good job, making adjustments.
"But this is really down to everyone back at the factory. They’ve been working so hard. We kind of know where our North Star is and for them to bring this upgrade here this weekend, I can’t thank them enough for the hard work that they’ve put in to bring it, because it’s a competition between all the teams to who can bring the most and it helps us close the gap.”
The upgraded Ferrari felt transformed in qualifying trim. “The car felt great in qualifying,” Hamilton said. “Obviously, they’re still so quick, the Mercedes, so still have work to do to fully close the gap or at least get ahead, but I’m really hoping that tomorrow we can. It would be nice for us to, for once, be able to hold on to them, but we’ll see.”
Hamilton also reflected on Charles Leclerc’s Q3 crash, offering insight into how demanding the Ferrari is on the limit. “I think just these cars in general, it is tricky,” he explained.
“For me the car felt really good. I had this exact same set‑up now in quali, and I know Charles has been quick all weekend. I think, on the day, too, I think I was braking very late into Turn 4, which had been visible, and I think Charles probably tried to carry a lot of speed into that corner and unfortunately, it didn’t work out for him.”
He emphasised how narrow the operating window is for both tyres and balance. “We’re just constantly trying to strike that perfect balance, which is inevitably almost impossible to ever find, but you’re trying to get closer and closer.
"And these tyres are very peaky. There’s a small window that the fronts and the rears work, and you have a push in Turns 1, 2 and 3, and then you’re struggling through 4 and the rest of the lap.
"So, it’s the finest line that I can remember ever being to get every ounce of the car’s performance out on track, but I’ve been really happy with the progress that we made in terms of the balance.”