Lewis Hamilton says his Ferrari has ‘completely changed’ ahead of the Canadian GP. The Scuderia already introduced a broad upgrade package during the recent race weekend in Miami, but the adjustments have been further optimized for Montreal. Hamilton feels that he can now mix even more in the fight at the front. The Brit qualified fifth in the sprint qualifying, ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc.
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Although Ferrari – unlike some other top teams – has not implemented additional upgrades for the Canadian GP, Hamilton is very positive about the current state of his SF-26. The updates from Miami have since been further developed, giving the seven-time world champion more confidence in the cockpit. For example, he was the fastest in SQ1 and SQ2 on Friday, before having to yield to both Mercedes and McLarens in the decisive session.
“Probably the best qualifying session we’ve had in a long time,” Hamilton reflected to the media. “The engineers have done an amazing job, especially with the setup changes. The car felt fantastic from the first moment; for qualifying we only had to make subtle adjustments.” Surely P5 is a fairly disappointing result after that pace in the first sessions? “In SQ1 and SQ2 it looked promising – I don’t know why the others suddenly did a bit better. No idea.”
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Mixing at the front
“I’m just happy I could be involved in the fight, I had so much fun on the track,” Hamilton beamed. “Also the fact that I haven’t driven in the simulator anymore: I just feel better than ever this year. I think this is the way forward.” The 41-year-old Brit previously stated that he has given up the simulator because the results do not translate into more speed on the track. He wants to focus further on the preparations he can make.
“In recent weeks I found it much more useful to analyze the data,” he explained. “I could fully focus on training and also perfect the driving balance down to the last detail. As a result, we were able to choose a setup here that we have never used before, so the car is completely changed. I hope that is a good omen for the rest of the weekend.”
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Read everything about the Canadian GP here
