Lewis Hamilton was still holding the provisional pole after his first attempt in Q3 in Madrid. But the Ferrari driver quickly realized that something was wrong.
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Lewis Hamilton believed for a few minutes that he could end a wait of 73 Grands Prix. Having set the best time after the first Q3 attempts at the Spanish Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver seemed ideally placed to claim his first pole position since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix.
But just as the times were still expected to fall, the SF-26 no longer allowed the Briton to make a real breakthrough. Hamilton only improved his time by a few hundredths on his final attempt, while Lando Norris, Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen all went under the 1’32 mark. The seven-time world champion thus slipped down to fourth place.
Hamilton thought he finally had his first pole with Ferrari
The first Q3 attempt had been almost perfect. Kimi Antonelli had first set the benchmark at 1’32″140, but Hamilton immediately responded with a lap of 1’32″079. The Briton was then ahead of George Russell, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen.
After showing excellent pace since the start of the weekend, Ferrari therefore seemed to have a real chance to secure pole. Hamilton especially felt particularly comfortable behind the wheel of his car at that precise moment in qualifying.
“Qualifying was overall quite straightforward, without any real problems. I felt really good during my first attempt in Q3, then I simply had no more grip or power.”
Hamilton also points out that Ferrari made no particular mistakes in executing the session.
“The team executed qualifying very well and I think they did an excellent job. Unfortunately, I simply didn’t have the necessary pace at the end.”
A problem noticeable even before his last lap
Hamilton quickly realized that his second set of tires would not offer the expected sensations. As soon as he finished his preparation lap, the Ferrari driver noticed that the front of his car was no longer reacting the same way.
This impression was confirmed at the start of his flying lap. While his rivals found several tenths, Hamilton only improved his own reference by less than one tenth.
“The second lap was practically as good as the previous one since in terms of time, they were almost identical. I think I was about five hundredths faster.”
But the behavior of his Ferrari had changed.
“For some reason, when we started this last lap and I exited the last corner, I had understeer. I thought: ‘Maybe the front tires are not yet in their window.'”
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“I had more rear grip and more understeer”
The problem never really went away. Hamilton quickly realized that he had more grip at the rear, but that this balance increased understeer and prevented him from attacking like during his first attempt.
“It turned out that I had more grip at the rear and more understeer throughout the lap.”
Meanwhile, his rivals significantly accelerated. Antonelli posted a 1’31″835 that seemed to secure him pole, before Norris emerged with a 1’31″824 to beat the Italian by only 11 thousandths. Verstappen also went under 1’32 and pushed Hamilton down to fourth place.
For the second time this season, Hamilton thus sees a provisional pole slip away after dominating the first Q3 attempts. The same scenario had already happened in Hungary, where Norris also ended up taking first place from him.
A front row still slipping away from Hamilton
The frustration is naturally significant since the Briton seemed to have a real chance to reconnect with pole. His last one dated back to the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, 73 races earlier, and this Madrid qualifying represented one of his best chances since joining Ferrari.
His fourth place remains encouraging nonetheless. Hamilton will start just behind Norris, Antonelli and Verstappen and especially ahead of his teammate Leclerc. However, the configuration of the Madring could make his comeback particularly difficult on Sunday.
Several drivers have already expressed their concerns about the lack of overtaking opportunities. Verstappen even believes that there is practically no corner allowing an attack under normal conditions.
Hamilton still impressed by the Madring
Hamilton is much less critical about the new circuit. The Briton particularly appreciates several features of the layout and believes the organizers have done an excellent job, even though he also acknowledges that overtaking could be complicated.
“I have no idea about the race. I haven’t seen the other races held here, but I was told it is very difficult to overtake.”
The layout itself, however, gives him good sensations behind the wheel.
“It’s a really nice circuit to drive. Some sections with the curbs remind me a bit of karting and the banked corners are really interesting. I think they have done an excellent job.”
Hamilton will now have to hope that tire degradation and strategy will create enough differences on Sunday. After briefly glimpsing his first pole since 2023, the Ferrari driver will ultimately have to start fourth and find a way to overtake on a circuit where his own rivals already fear a particularly difficult race to unlock.
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