Hamilton opens up on his problems with his Ferrari after”having been nowhere all weekend”
After another tough qualifying session, seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has opened up his issues in his SF25, claiming that he "had been nowhere all weekend:"
Ferrari had endured a difficult weekend so far in Jeddah. While Charles Leclerc sometimes looked fairly competitive, Lewis Hamilton never looked comfortable in his car over the weekend.
With both drivers struggled for pace in the first qualifying segment, both Leclerc and Hamilton had to resort to a second set of softs to ensure they got to Q2. The new tyre was essential for Hamilton, although it became clear that Leclerc was definitely through by the time he had completed the first sector, so he was able to save the tyres for the next part.
In the middle part of qualifying, the Briton and the Monegasque were forced to resort to two sets of new softs to make the cut to Q3. The two SF-25s went out in Q3 on used tyres, but the session was immediately red flagged after Lando Norris crashed into the barriers.
Leclerc and Hamilton then fitted their last sets of new softs and left the garage for just one flying lap, with the Monegasque posting a 1’27”670 to secure fourth place, while Hamilton stopped the clocks in 1’28”201, which put him seventh on the time sheet.
After another disappointing result in qualifying, Hamilton said: "It was challenging, as always, qualifying for me. I'd been nowhere all weekend - 13th I think in almost every session - so, honestly, I feel grateful to have got to Q3 and P7.
"Not a spectacular last lap, but have been making improvements all weekend. Needed a better lap at the end but, as I said, I'm just grateful to be there. Still plenty of time to come.”
When asked if he can replicate the step he made last time out in Bahrain between the qualifying session and the race, Hamilton added: "Praying, more like! Trying to bond with this car on a single lap is something that I am finding very difficult at the moment.
"But we don't give up. When there's a will there's a way, we keep pushing, keep trying, have got some amazing support so just keep working hard."
“I was feeling positive after the last race and hoping that I could apply some of those things, but it's not worked. Tomorrow, is it about being patient, just waiting for opportunities, yellow flags and safety cars.
“I'm going to just try and race and see if I can go forwards. If I can go forwards, that'd be great. If not, then you'll be hopeful for something to happen to try and capitalise on."
