Lewis Hamilton revealed that he has made a change to his race weekend approach, and is feeling more content behind the wheel. The seven-time world champion qualified seventh at the Dutch Grand Prix, one position behind team-mate Charles Leclerc. This has been an extremely testing weekend for Ferrari, who started the weekend on the back foot after a concerning Friday practice programme.
Both Leclerc and team principal Fred Vasseur were distraught over the early preparation, but Hamilton has maintained a cool and calm approach throughout the weekend. While sixth and seventh on the grid are far from ideal for the Scuderia, Hamilton will take confidence from challenging Leclerc throughout all three parts of qualifying, with the Ferrari duo rarely separated by more than a tenth on the timing screen.
“I think it was okay,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 after qualifying. “I was looking for progress coming into this weekend. I was out of Q3 in the last, god knows how many races now, so that is progress to get back in.
“Clearly, we’re not where we want to be. The package has been quite difficult and challenging this weekend. But yeah, Charles going from P1 in qualifying in the last race to then us being six tenths off here… So we’re definitely missing something, but I’ve enjoyed the weekend more so far.
“I think from my side, I think I’ve made some adjustments to my approach. Definitely, as I said, been in a better place, particularly as we’ve had a break. So definitely been a lot calmer, I would say, through this weekend.”
For the latest breaking stories and headlines, sign up to our Daily Express F1 newsletter, or join our WhatsApp community here.
Following qualifying, Sunday’s race promises to be another case of tight margins in the battle for second place in the Constructors’ Championship. George Russell will start one spot ahead of Leclerc in fifth, but Kimi Antonelli will line up 11th after he was pushed out of Q2 at the last moment by Fernando Alonso.
Ferrari boss Vasseur has set his sights on an unlikely podium on Sunday. “It’s not magic, but if you compare it with the result from Friday, it’s a huge step forward,” he said. “It was, for sure, yesterday, the most difficult Friday of the last two or three seasons, and we had a good recovery today.
“We are not that far away, with the lap of Q2, we would’ve been P4. If we do the same step forward tomorrow, it’s good news, but it will be difficult for sure. We have to target the podium, for sure.”
