Lewis Hamilton described the braking problems on his Ferrari as a `lottery` after experiencing difficulties during Practice Two at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, held at the team`s home circuit in Italy. According to Hamilton, just `two of the tiniest` adjustments to his car led to a significant struggle in the second session.
Driving in Italy for the first time as a Ferrari driver, Hamilton`s day began positively. He finished fifth in Practice One, less than a tenth of a second behind the fastest McLarens.
However, the second practice session proved much more challenging. Hamilton managed only the 11th-quickest lap and was heard expressing frustration about his car`s brakes over team radio multiple times during the hour-long session.
“P1 was good,” Hamilton commented.
I was really, really happy with the car in P1 and it felt like we had made a step forward and I was feeling really positive.
He continued, explaining the sudden drop in performance: “I literally changed two of the tiniest things that shouldn’t have had barely any effect at all, the smallest change we`ve probably done this year, and we then had some brake issues that then made a massive difference so that was then a fight with that.”
Hamilton added that this braking issue has been a recurring problem this year.
That`s been quite a big issue all year, actually. I`ve never experienced that before, so that`s a new thing for me this year.
When asked if the problem could be resolved before Saturday`s sessions, Hamilton stated it wasn`t related to adapting to Ferrari`s brake material (different from his previous team, Mercedes). He replied `no` to the question of a quick fix, comparing the situation to chance.
It`s a lottery! We will roll the dice. You put one on and it works and then you put another on and it doesn`t, and we`ll see.
“I hope tomorrow we figure something out, we`re working on it for sure,” he concluded.
Leclerc Focused on Improving Qualifying Speed
Team-mate Charles Leclerc, who also reported brake issues during the day, finished Practice One 0.4 seconds slower than Hamilton but was nearly two tenths faster in Practice Two, securing the sixth-quickest time.
Leclerc, who missed Thursday`s media day due to illness, reported feeling “a lot better” on Friday. However, he described his initial session as “very tricky” due to various problems with the SF-25, resulting in 12th place in FP1.
Unlike Hamilton, Leclerc found his second session more productive, but it highlighted the team`s need to improve single-lap performance.
“FP2 we put everything together a bit more and it was feeling better on my side,” he said, acknowledging the need for speed.
But, still, we are lacking performance – and we know. Our weak point at the moment is the qualifying pace and we still need to work on that.
Asked about optimism for qualifying improvement, Leclerc replied: “To be better than today, yes. To go and take pole, honestly, I don`t think we have got that in the car for now.”
Despite this, he noted a positive aspect: “But the race pace was strong, so that`s positive.” However, he stressed the importance of starting position at Imola. “But it`s also a track where overtaking is very difficult so we have got to focus on our qualifying pace. That`s where we are putting all our effort into and I`m hoping it will pay [dividends] for tomorrow.”
