Lewis Hamilton is happy with the progress Ferrari has made with the SF-26. According to the seven-time world champion, the car feels good – unlike his teammate Charles Leclerc -, but the Scuderia is still ‘at the mercy of the lack of engine power’ for now. As a result, former employer Mercedes is still a size too big for the Italian team: ‘But if that last fast lap had succeeded, I probably could have finished third’.
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With a fifth starting position for the Canadian GP – three places higher than teammate Charles Leclerc – Lewis Hamilton is one of the contenders for the podium places. Yet the Brit had hoped for a better starting position for the main race. According to Hamilton, a top three starting position would even have been possible if he had not made a mistake on his last fast lap. During his last attempt in Q3, Hamilton made a mistake exiting turn seven. The Ferrari driver then aborted his fast lap.
Still, optimism prevailed above all at Hamilton about the progress Ferrari has made during the race weekend so far. “The car felt great,” Hamilton told the media. “We made some good adjustments in qualifying. But, oh man, I had hoped for a better result. That last lap just didn’t come. The car felt like we were making progress. Honestly, if that last lap had succeeded, I probably could have finished third.”
‘At the mercy of lack of engine power’
According to Hamilton, Ferrari is still being held back by the deficit to the Mercedes engine. “The guys in the factory have done a fantastic job with the car. There are still improvements possible, but the car is fantastic,” Hamilton added to Sky F1. “But we are just at the mercy of the lack of engine power that we have. The reliability is clearly very good. It’s just that if you miss that speed on the straight against the Mercedes cars, it becomes very, very difficult.”
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