Lewis Hamilton was on course to achieve his first pole position since the 2023 Hungarian GP at the Madring. Until a disappointing final fast lap spoiled the party. According to Frédéric Vasseur, the Ferrari driver made a costly mistake in the first sector, although the Brit himself mainly spoke about a lack of grip. Hamilton then had to watch as Lando Norris took the pole. However, he is already looking ahead: “Maybe we still have a chance at a podium finish.”
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After the first fast laps in Q3 at the Madring, Lewis Hamilton held the provisional pole. The Brit could then only improve his fast time by a tenth, allowing Lando Norris, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and Max Verstappen to beat his time. According to Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur, it ultimately came down to one moment that meant the driver is still waiting for another pole position after 73 races.
“If you are P1 after the first lap in Q3, of course you go for the pole,” Vasseur said to the media present in Madrid. “I think Lewis made a small mistake at the start of his last fast lap and lost about one and a half tenths in the first sector because of that. Charles (Leclerc, ed.) drove a good lap and improved enormously in corners 5 and 6, but with such small differences between the cars, it was not enough to finish higher than fifth place.”
Hamilton himself blamed a lack of grip: “Qualifying went pretty smoothly overall. No problems. Yes, the car felt really great in the first run of Q3, but in the last run it had no grip or power left.”
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‘Chance at a podium finish’
The Brit is already looking ahead. “We start just behind the top three on the grid, so hopefully, if we execute well and have some pace in the race – even though we struggle with overtaking – maybe we can have a chance at a podium if we work hard,” hopes the Brit. However, whether or not a podium place is achieved does not depend solely on Ferrari’s hard work. “Sometimes we race on hot circuits, and then tire wear is okay, and sometimes it’s not. Take Austria for example: it was warm there and our wear was terrible, but then you go to another location and it’s okay again.”
The expectation is that during the race on Sunday it will be above thirty degrees Celsius, with a track temperature around 53 degrees. “So I really have no idea what to expect,” Hamilton continues. “I’m just going to enjoy it, that’s all I can say. I’m really going to enjoy it without putting too much pressure on myself, and it is what it is that the guys we’re fighting with – one of whom is ahead of us – are simply faster, so we’ll do our best to hold our ground.”
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