Ferrari has a Saturday problem to solve. Lewis Hamilton finished seventh in the Dutch Grand Prix Sprint at Zandvoort, 12.188 seconds behind Mercedes winner George Russell, and says the team will change his car before the rest of the weekend continues.
In Friday's Sprint Qualifying, Hamilton secured seventh place with a time of 1:12.191. Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc qualified third after clocking 1:11.622, finishing 0.569 seconds ahead. Russell took pole with a 1:11.567, ahead of Lando Norris at 1:11.608, Leclerc, Oscar Piastri at 1:11.666, and Kimi Antonelli at 1:11.794.
The awkward part is that Hamilton was not miles away from the front in the only practice session. He placed fourth, just 0.190 seconds behind Antonelli's 1:12.949. Ferrari then adjusted Hamilton's setup before Sprint Qualifying. After the adjustments, Hamilton confirmed that the changes didn't have the required effect: "Not a good, not a good session," he said. Formula1.com also quoted him saying, "P1 felt good. We made subtle adjustments to the car, but then we got into qualifying. It was a completely different car."
That left Ferrari with a split: Leclerc started third and finished second, while Hamilton spent much of the 24-lap Sprint chasing Max Verstappen. Hamilton got within one second of Verstappen with eight laps left, but he could not complete the pass.
Hamilton explained the next step after the Sprint:
#sprint #russell #verstappen
In Friday's Sprint Qualifying, Hamilton secured seventh place with a time of 1:12.191. Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc qualified third after clocking 1:11.622, finishing 0.569 seconds ahead. Russell took pole with a 1:11.567, ahead of Lando Norris at 1:11.608, Leclerc, Oscar Piastri at 1:11.666, and Kimi Antonelli at 1:11.794.
The awkward part is that Hamilton was not miles away from the front in the only practice session. He placed fourth, just 0.190 seconds behind Antonelli's 1:12.949. Ferrari then adjusted Hamilton's setup before Sprint Qualifying. After the adjustments, Hamilton confirmed that the changes didn't have the required effect: "Not a good, not a good session," he said. Formula1.com also quoted him saying, "P1 felt good. We made subtle adjustments to the car, but then we got into qualifying. It was a completely different car."
That left Ferrari with a split: Leclerc started third and finished second, while Hamilton spent much of the 24-lap Sprint chasing Max Verstappen. Hamilton got within one second of Verstappen with eight laps left, but he could not complete the pass.
Hamilton explained the next step after the Sprint:
#sprint #russell #verstappen
2 months ago
