Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton set three purple sectors to briefly top the times in Q3 before late improvements from Lando Norris, Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen dropped him to fourth for Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring.
Norris surprised the Madrid crowd with pole, pipping Antonelli by around three tenths in the closing seconds, with Verstappen third. Hamilton’s session ended seven-hundredths further back in fourth, and his teammate Charles Leclerc completed the top five.
When asked if fourth depicted a good recovery, Hamilton played it down. “I think it was okay. Decent session on the way through,” he said. “Qualifying was generally pretty straightforward. No issues.”
Hamilton confirmed there were no setup changes between Friday and Saturday, in contrast to Leclerc’s reported changes, and credited the team’s execution rather than any shortfall in preparation. “I think it was good execution for the team. I think they did a really great job.”
Hamilton was positive when talking about the track’s character and layout. “It’s a pretty cool track to drive,” he said, pointing to its “go-kart-esque” sections and “really cool banking.”
Lewis Hamilton unsure of Ferrari Madring race pace
He was less inclined to predict how the race would unfold, saying he hadn’t watched the earlier support races (F2 and F3) to gauge how difficult overtaking would be.
On tyre degradation, an area in which Sunday’s warm conditions could play a factor, Hamilton said Ferrari’s performance in the heat has been inconsistent through the season. “We sometimes go to hot places and our deg is okay and then sometimes it’s not okay. When you go to somewhere like Austria, it’s hot and our deg is terrible, and then you go to another place — so I really have no idea.”
Glancing ahead to the race, he struck a relaxed tone. “I’m going to have fun, that’s all I can say. Just going to have real fun, not put too much pressure on it.”
READ MORE: Lando Norris reveals impact of F1 gearbox change after shock Madrid pole
Originally published by motorsportweek.com —
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