Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has opened up on his British Grand Prix qualifying session at Silverstone, pointing out the factors that prevented him from starting on the front row.
The British GP marks Hamilton’s first home race after his move from Mercedes to Ferrari early this year. The Briton admitted his wish to secure a podium finish in the race. However, that goal might have become a little bit more difficult to achieve, given his P5 race start.
Hamilton’s journey in adapting to Ferrari’s SF25 F1 car hasn’t been easy, and his recent performances suggest a longer learning curve. Despite many doubting his abilities, the 40-year-old pushed hard to arrive at a point where he could say he was comfortable with the car’s setup.
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Hamilton admitted that he was impressed with his car’s setup in qualifying, suggesting that it should help him battle Max Verstappen and both McLarens. He told Sky Sports F1 after qualifying:
“Pretty decent qualifying. It’s generally been a decent weekend so far.
“I’m definitely feeling more comfortable with the set-up of the car and the balance of the car.
“Right up until the last corner I think I was close to second on the grid, but had a bit of understeer and ended up losing a tenth-and-a-bit.
“In Q3 run two [Red Bull] always come out of nowhere and they are always quick. It’s not a surprise.
“In Q1 the timing was off and we only had one lap of fuel and there was still time on the table. It was a big, big risk and definitely was not well executed and we executed better in the next two.
“I think it will be very, very hard to beat the McLarens or the Red Bulls but when there is a will there is a way.
“I’ll give it absolutely everything tomorrow. We are a little bit far behind where I want to be but with the weather and this amazing crowd…”
Hamilton also stressed that he was witnessing progress within the team and in the car. He said:
“We are making progress. There’s still more to make, but we obviously had the upgrade in the last race. We are improving our process, the way we go about our weekends definitely feels like we’re punching, punching out better results, so keep pushing.”
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