Lewis Hamilton regrets a missed opportunity during the sprint qualifying for the Dutch GP. After the Brit recorded good results during the only free practice, he only managed seventh place in the first competitive session. Meanwhile, Ferrari had made some adjustments to the car, but they backfired. Charles Leclerc felt much more comfortable in the SF-26 and recorded the third fastest time.
Read more Dutch GP Qualifying: Russell surprises with pole in Zandvoort, Verstappen sixth
After Hamilton was able to compete for the fastest time in FP1, he decided to make some adjustments ahead of the sprint qualifying. According to him, he got a completely different feeling in return. “Not a good session, unfortunately, but that’s just how it goes,” admitted the seven-time world champion to the press in the paddock.
“The first practice felt good, but then we made subtle adjustments to the car,” explained a gloomy Hamilton. “That resulted in a completely different car. We still have to find out what went wrong.”
Read more George Russell starts last Dutch GP well with sprint pole: ‘Thank you, Zandvoort’
Positive Charles Leclerc
On the other side of the Ferrari garage, confidence was considerably higher. Leclerc drove to the third fastest time and was very pleased with his lap, which he described as his best qualifying lap of the season. “It was my best qualifying lap of this year and that means we are doing something right in terms of the feeling in the car,” responded the Monegasque. “It doesn’t mean it will stay that way forever, but these are steps in the right direction, especially after such a long break. Unfortunately, we just missed pole position, but we are more or less in the mix.”
Read more Max Verstappen jokes after Zandvoort sprint qualifying: ‘At least we finished ahead of Lewis’
Read everything about the Dutch GP in Zandvoort here
