Hamilton Optimistic About Ferrari's Race Pace Despite Qualifying Results

Lewis Hamilton is hopeful about Ferrari's performance in the Dutch Grand Prix, stating that the car is in a "better place" for race conditions following adjustments made before qualifying. Although starting from the third row, Hamilton expressed optimism for Sunday's race.

Ferrari, currently the closest challengers to Mercedes in both championship standings, qualified three-tenths of a second behind pole position at Zandvoort, the first race after the summer break.

Hamilton, who qualified fifth, and Charles Leclerc, sixth, will both start behind the Mercedes and McLaren cars. Lando Norris secured pole position for the race.

However, fifth place on the grid marked an improvement for Hamilton compared to the earlier Sprint sessions, where he qualified and finished seventh.

"It was a much different session, a much different car," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 after main qualifying. "In practice, the car felt great and was consistent, but there are always areas you feel you can improve. So, we made subtle changes to try and fix those improvements, and it flipped the car on its head. It was horrible through Sprint Qualifying and the Sprint. I had no confidence in the balance."

"We made all these changes into Qualifying, so I was learning a new car again, a new balance which I'm much happier with. Trying to progress with it and learning with only about six laps was a challenge.

"Also, all the Mercedes [powered cars] are ahead, and we know we have a bit of a deficit on power. So, I think our race pace should be better, and the car is better for the race."

Saturday's Sprint race had suggested that the Ferrari car could be competitive around the challenging Zandvoort circuit. Leclerc finished second, 1.3 seconds behind winner George Russell, with his overtake on Norris six laps from the end being the only significant change in the top 10 after the opening lap.

Despite the track not being ideal for overtaking, Hamilton is not ruling out the possibility of the SF-26 competing at the front again. "I feel optimistic," he said. "Fifth is not the greatest, but it could be far worse, so I'm grateful to be there, but of course, I wish I was further ahead.

"However, our race pace was good in the Sprint. Charles had good race pace, and the car is in a better place. Hopefully, with the right strategy and right execution, I think we can challenge the cars ahead."

What Went Wrong for Leclerc After Sprint Promise?

Leclerc's impressive overtake on Norris for second place in the Sprint had been somewhat surprising, especially considering he was the only front-runner to use the soft tyres for the 24-lap race. While the soft compound is initially the fastest, its performance degrades more quickly.

Consequently, Leclerc was expected to contend for pole position, but he never appeared to be a serious contender in any of the three qualifying stages.

"I don't think the conditions played a role," Leclerc stated. "I think we changed the power strategies a bit too much throughout qualifying, then in Q3, I had some weird things going on, so we lost a bit of performance there. At no point during qualifying did I have the potential for pole."

Starting Sunday's race from sixth, following Hamilton's late improvement, Leclerc commented on his race prospects: "Realistically, it will be very difficult to overtake on track, but we will do our best and see where we end up. Starting from sixth doesn't make our life easy, so it will be a tough race, but the pace is there, so I hope we can do something with strategy and offset ourselves from the others."

Team principal Frederic Vasseur, however, drew encouragement from their Sprint performance and suggested that the race's likely multi-stop nature could work in their favour. "The race pace in the Sprint was very strong, so we will try to come back," said the Frenchman. "We had a good comparison between the two [tyre] compounds [in the Sprint], which is probably the best preparation we can have for the race. It's very difficult to overtake. It will probably be two or three pit stops, which mean everything is open."

He also confirmed that the latest upgrades to the SF-26, including a new floor believed to have been fitted after Friday's sole practice session, were performing as expected. "It's working as per the plan," Vasseur added. "From the beginning of the season, every time we brought something, it has worked as per the plan. It's a positive side of the development this year. We are bringing a lot of upgrades at each race, not big ones, so we are not expecting to gain five tenths per race. But it's working as expected."