Leclerc disappointed over fighting for P4 in Jeddah Qualifying as Hamilton admits he ‘still has work to do’ in P7

Charles Leclerc was left downbeat after being unable to battle amongst the top three in Qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – the Monegasque ending the session in P4 – while Lewis Hamilton also acknowledged that he has “work to do” following his P7 result.

While a close fight played out for pole position at the end of a dramatic Q3 – with Max Verstappen ultimately coming out on top against Oscar Piastri and George Russell – Leclerc had to settle for fourth, his time proving to be over three-tenths away from Verstappen’s.

Asked after the session about what had been lacking in order to get him into that scrap for the top three, Leclerc explained: “Just grip at the moment. We are just missing a lot of grip compared to the others, so that’s the best I can do for now.

“I feel like we’ve tried many different directions this weekend to try and extract a bit more from the car. We are running on the sweet spot of the car but it’s just nothing anymore.

“If we look at my lap I think it’s pretty clear, it’s very much on the limit everywhere but we just don’t have enough grip.”

Leclerc: ‘Fighting for P4 is not what I want and not what makes me happy’

While he felt he had extracted what was possible from the SF-25, Leclerc admitted that this did not help him to feel better given that he aspires to battling higher up the grid.

“It’s mixed feelings,” the 27-year-old said. “Yes I’m happy about my job, but I’m disappointed with [the result]. Fighting for P4 is not what I want and not what makes me happy, so for now I’m just disappointed.”

HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the action as Verstappen tops a thrilling Qualifying in Saudi Arabia after Norris crashes

And in terms of whether the car may be more stable in race trim, Leclerc added: “I don’t think so, but with a good start if we place ourselves in front of the others, maybe.”

On the other side of the garage, Hamilton had spoken on Friday of aiming to reach the top 10 following a difficult day on track – and the Briton achieved this on Saturday, ending Q3 in seventh place.

While he was in better spirits than during the opening day of action in Jeddah, Hamilton conceded that he was still facing some issues in getting comfortable with the car.

Hamilton: ‘I’ve still got work to do to try and gel with this car’

“I wouldn’t say I’m satisfied, but I’m happier than I was yesterday, and also through every practice session I was 12th or 13th,” the seven-time World Champion reflected.

“I just wasn’t feeling good with the car beneath me, it really wasn’t coming easy at all, so to just have got into Q3, it doesn’t matter how close it is, I’m grateful to have got through to Q3. P7 is okay, it’s better than my last Qualifying and so I’ve still got work to do to gel with this car.”

Pushed on how hard he was working to get the most out of his Qualifying lap – as well as unlearning any muscle memory – Hamilton answered: “I might be just so stuck in it that it’s never going to change, but I’m behind the scenes working – I couldn’t work really any harder and trying to implicate things that I’m seeing and do it actually on track.

“The car’s reacting differently every time we go out, so that’s definitely challenging.”

And, looking ahead to Sunday’s Grand Prix, the 40-year-old sounded an optimistic note as he added: “We didn’t really do a long run in practice, but this is I think a track where I think there is some overtaking, so [I’m] looking forwards.”