Disappointing qualifying for Lewis Hamilton, who finished only in eighth place, six tenths behind the top spot.
A disappointing qualifying session for Lewis Hamilton, who in Suzuka, could only manage eighth place, over six tenths behind Max Verstappen. The seven-time world champion, who was on similar times to Leclerc in the first two qualifying sessions, couldn’t improve in Q3, losing significant time in the middle sector of the twisty and beautiful Suzuka track.
A loss that, according to Lewis Hamilton’s words, is also due to the setup he chose, which differed from his teammate’s in order to optimize race pace. These are the statements from the seven-time world champion after qualifying: “Obviously I’m not happy, it’s not what I was looking for in the car, otherwise I wouldn’t be eighth, but Charles did a great job. We worked hard this weekend, every weekend we work a lot. On the one hand, it’s nice to see Charles so close to the front row, he’s very fast here.”
As stated by Lewis himself, the number 44 in red couldn’t extract the full potential from his SF-25, but there are good chances for a strong race thanks to the setup oriented toward that direction. Here’s Hamilton’s comment: “From my side, I couldn’t extract all the potential; we need to review it. We chose two different paths in terms of setup. Charles’ direction might be better for one-lap pace, while I hope mine will pay off in the race. But overall, I’m happy with the decision, the direction it’s taken, but as I said, I struggled with the front end, that’s why I had that snap in Q3.”
Photo: X Scuderia Ferrari