Only seventh in the Sprint at Zandvoort, Lewis Hamilton hopes to take advantage of the parc fermé reopening to return to a setup closer to that used in free practice.
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Lewis Hamilton is counting on the few hours between the Sprint and the qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix to regain better feelings behind the wheel of his Ferrari. The Briton believes that a seemingly minor setup change profoundly altered the behavior of his SF-26.
The seven-time world champion had, however, started the weekend encouragingly. Fourth in the only free practice session, he had shown himself comfortable with a Ferrari equipped at Zandvoort with a new floor and a revised diffuser.
However, the situation deteriorated during the Sprint qualifying. Hamilton could only secure seventh place, behind his teammate Charles Leclerc and more than half a second off the pole position of George Russell.
A small change with big consequences
Hamilton had already explained on Friday that he had probably taken a wrong direction in his setup compared to Leclerc. An error impossible to correct before the Sprint due to parc fermé rules.
“The car was quite good during FP1, then we made a subtle change that really pushed it in a completely different direction in qualifying” explained Hamilton.
The problem then continued during the Sprint since Ferrari could no longer freely adjust the car’s setup.
“We then had to keep that for the race” he continued.
Hamilton was thus never truly able to improve. Starting seventh, he crossed the finish line in the same position and scored two additional points in the championship.
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Ferrari can finally modify the SF-26
The situation changes, however, before the main qualifying. The parc fermé regime being lifted after the Sprint, Ferrari can now work on the SF-26 without exposing Hamilton to a penalty.
An opportunity that the Briton hopes his team will exploit to return to the configuration that had given him satisfaction on Friday morning.
“I hope we can go back to something similar to what we had during FP1” he said.
The stakes are high for Hamilton. His seventh place in the Sprint, combined with the fourth position of Kimi Antonelli, now puts his deficit to the championship leader at 53 points. George Russell, winner on Saturday morning, is now only three points behind his former teammate.
Leclerc demonstrates Ferrari’s potential
Charles Leclerc’s performances nevertheless offer a reason for optimism to Hamilton. Starting third in the Sprint, the Monegasque overtook Lando Norris before finishing second, less than two seconds behind Russell.
Ferrari therefore seems to have a particularly competitive SF-26 at Zandvoort, provided they find the right setup window.
For Hamilton, the goal before qualifying is clear: erase the changes made after free practice and regain a car with which he can better exploit the potential shown by his teammate.
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