Lewis Hamilton admits P8 'not where I want to be' as Ferrari SF-25 Struggles

The F1 cars in recent years have struggled with dirty air and racing behind others, making overtaking quite a chore. This characteristic allowed Lewis to fend off Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri's McLaren during the race.

Despite the sprint win, the Ferrari car has delivered mediocre results, frequently being the third or fourth fastest car on the track.

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“I generally struggled throughout the Qualifying session,” Hamilton said.

“I think when we got to Q3, I just wasn’t able to improve."

“I had a big snap of oversteer in the middle sector on the first lap, and then [in the] second lap I was only down in that sector so, yeah, not where I want to be.”

“Still I’m excited for tomorrow."

“It still can be fun from where I am.”

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Despite the car's challenges this season, Hamilton must extract more performance to keep up with his teammate.

Renowned for his single-lap speed, Charles Leclerc propelled the Ferrari to P4, a position that showcases the maximum potential of the car.

Hamilton was a little over three-tenths slower than Leclerc, an acceptable result for someone adjusting to a new team and competing against one of the best drivers on the grid.

The seven-time world champion knows he can do better, even if the car is not competitive enough to challenge higher up the grid.

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Leclerc, on the other hand, was generally pleased with his performance, noting that the car is not yet where the team wants it to be.

“This was definitely the best we could get out of it today,” Leclerc said.

“It’s on one hand disappointing because P4 is never what you want to fight for, but on the other hand I’m quite satisfied with the day off [the back of] yesterday."

“We’ve maximized the car potential, but we are just lacking overall performance at the moment.”

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