Lewis Hamilton has described his Ferrari as being “on a knife edge” during Qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, with the seven-time World Champion unable to repeat his standout Sprint performance by winding up fifth fastest.
Hamilton made a statement at the start of the Shanghai weekend by storming to pole position in Sprint Qualifying on Friday evening, before converting that into an assured victory during Saturday’s 100-kilometre dash.
However, as the event transitioned to full Qualifying, Hamilton and Ferrari’s pace dropped away – and the Briton feels set-up adjustments made in the permitted window following the Sprint played their part in putting the SF-25 out of kilter.
Hamilton won the Sprint from pole earlier on Saturday, but had to settle for fifth in Qualifying
“We started really optimistic, naturally, but then we made just a couple of small changes, tweaks to the car, and it really put the car on a knife edge,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. “I think the wind picked up a little bit as well, so the car was trickier to drive, and it was harder to put laps together.”
Pressed on what he wants from Ferrari’s new challenger, and what might be missing, he continued: “Not one particular thing. You want a car that’s balanced, so at the moment from one corner to the next, the car has a different balance. You want a car that has a similar balance everywhere.
“As I said, we made the change, and then all of a sudden the high-speed was over-balanced. You just want a car you can rely on; when you attack the corners, you know it’s going to stay with you instead of lock up and go on or snap into oversteer. When it’s unpredictable, then you’ve got no hope.”
On the other side of the Ferrari garage, Charles Leclerc was marginally slower than Hamilton in sixth position, as he reflected on a weekend he has so far spent in his new team mate’s shadow.
Leclerc backed team mate Hamilton up by taking sixth in the other Ferrari
“It felt like it, at least,” he said, when asked if that was the maximum he could achieve in Qualifying. “Lewis did still a better job than I did, but I felt like I maximised on my side. I don’t think there was anything more. Being in front of Lewis or being behind, that doesn’t really matter, because as a team we start next to each other.
“As a team, I think we maximised the potential of the car, but the most important thing is that we understand where the potential of the car has gone because from this morning [in the Sprint], or from Sprint Qualifying, we were much faster compared to the others.
“I think yesterday maybe Lando [Norris] would have been a step ahead if he had finished his lap, but with other people we were more or less in line. Today, even though it’s tight, we seem to be a bit more on the back foot, because I think both laps, Lewis’ and mine, weren’t that bad – it was pretty good. It’s the way it is.”
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