Hamilton needed a “huge leap” before claiming first front row at Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton says he went into qualifying needing to make a “huge leap” forward before taking his best grid position for a grand prix at Ferrari.

“It’s been a very tricky weekend for me,” said Hamilton. He sat out first practice while junior driver Dino Beganovic drove his car.

Although Ferrari brought a significant upgrade for this weekend’s race, Hamilton was seven-tenths of a second off the pace after final practice and almost half a second behind team mate Charles Leclerc. “I really struggled to get on pace after missing [first practice],” he said.

“I’ve never been so down before in a sense of the gap between Charles and I and to everybody else. It was half a second to eight tenths. I think it was one second in one session to the front row.

“So I needed to make a huge leap going into qualifying. I knew where the time was, it was just having the confidence in the car, [especially] in the rear of the car.

“I think we did a really good job, making adjustments. But this is really down to everyone back at the factory. They’ve been working so hard. We kind of know where our North Star is and for them to bring this upgrade here this weekend, I can’t thank them enough for the hard work that they’ve put in to bring it.”

Leclerc looked on course to qualify well before crashing in Q3. Hamilton suspects his team mate tried to take too much speed into turn four.

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“I think just these cars in general, it is tricky,” he said. “For me the car felt really good. We basically have the exact same set-up now in quali, and I know Charles has been quick all weekend.

“I think on the day, too, I was braking very late into turn four, which had been visible, and I think Charles probably tried to carry a lot of speed into that corner and unfortunately, it didn’t work out for him. But he’s still going to be really quick in the race.”

Although Ferrari’s car has become more competitive, Hamilton said it has been tricky to get the best out of it this weekend.

“From the car standpoint, I think we’re just constantly trying to strike that perfect balance, which is inevitably almost impossible to ever find, but you’re trying to get closer and closer. And these tyres are very peaky. There’s a small window that the fronts and the rears work, and you have a push in turns one, two and three, and then you’re struggling through four and the rest of the lap.

“So it’s the finest line that I can remember ever being to get every ounce of the car’s performance out on track, but I’ve been really happy with the progress that we made in terms of the balance. Of course, we can always continue to improve.”

2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix

• Russell blames “copy-pasting” Antonelli’s approach for recent slump
• Hamilton needed a “huge leap” before claiming first front row at Ferrari
• Hadjar puzzled by Red Bull’s sudden gains: “I don’t know how we are 0.3s off pole”
• “Tiny” error behind Antonelli’s “no battery” radio messages on final lap – Wolff
• “It must be tough to stick with me”: Leclerc “ashamed and disappointed” after crash

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