Lewis Hamilton praised Ferrari`s outstanding performance in Austrian Grand Prix qualifying, which saw the team secure its best grid positions of a challenging season to date.
Charles Leclerc secured an impressive second place, separating the dominant McLarens and matching Ferrari`s best qualifying performance of the season. Hamilton qualified fourth, marking his first time on the second row since joining the Scuderia.
Ferrari debuted a new floor for their SF-25 car this weekend. Hamilton, who was less than a tenth of a second behind Leclerc and Oscar Piastri in third, commented: “It`s a fantastic outcome. The team at the factory put in tremendous effort to get this new floor ready for us.”
“Given how far off we were yesterday, it`s truly fantastic to be much closer and on the second row. It`s great for Charles to be on the front row as well.”
“My final lap wasn`t ideal. I believe I could have been second if I had completed it cleanly, so there are many positives from this session.”
“Operationally, I think this was our best day, especially during qualifying. The timing and the information regarding traffic and track positioning were genuinely world-class, which is something we`ve been striving for.”
Ferrari, particularly team principal Frederic Vasseur, has faced pressure from the Italian media recently as their pre-season championship hopes have not materialized halfway through the season.
Addressing the external pressure on the famous team, Hamilton stated: “Ultimately, we stick together, support each other, ignore the distractions, and just focus on our work.”
“It`s an amazing team. I`m collaborating with Fred, and we are gradually putting all the pieces into place. It`s a process that takes time.”
“We just need to keep pushing, but I`m genuinely pleased with the progress we`ve made.”
Hamilton Hopes to End Podium Drought
While he secured a Sprint race win in China and a third place in the Miami Sprint earlier this season, Hamilton`s last official Grand Prix podium finish was in November last year at the Las Vegas GP, racing for Mercedes.
The seven-time world champion is currently experiencing a 12-race streak without a top-three Grand Prix finish, nearing his longest career drought (13 races).
“Every race, I`ve said I can`t wait for that first podium, so I won`t say that today!” Hamilton remarked.
“I`ll just stay quiet and focus on doing a better job tomorrow.”
Leclerc Aims to Challenge McLaren
Ferrari`s positions were aided by yellow flags on the final laps for Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen due to Pierre Gasly`s spin. Charles Leclerc was still over half a second behind pole-sitter Lando Norris.
Despite the circumstances, Leclerc saw clear positives in the upgraded car`s performance, as Ferrari challenged Verstappen and outperformed Mercedes, who won the previous Canadian GP.
“The upgrades certainly helped,” he stated. “It`s hard to say exactly by how much, especially with the close margins (apart from Lando), but they definitely contributed to getting us on the front row. We should be proud of that work.”
“Overall, I think we had a great session. We worked very effectively this weekend, and I`m optimistic for tomorrow, as our race pace is usually stronger than our qualifying pace.”
Asked about challenging for the win, Leclerc responded: “I will give it everything. We`ll see; I don`t have the answer yet.”
“The gap is significant today, but I believe our car is good with tyre management tomorrow. Whether it matches McLaren`s race pace, I don`t know, but I will do my absolute best to make things difficult for them.”
Austrian GP Schedule (Times UK)
- Sunday June 29
- 7:25 am: F3 Feature Race
- 8:55 am: F2 Feature Race
- 10:40 am: Porsche Supercup
- 12:30 pm: Grand Prix Sunday Build-up
- 2:00 pm: THE AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX
- 4:00 pm: Chequered Flag Reaction
- 5:00 pm: Ted`s Notebook
The next event on the Formula 1 calendar is the Austrian Grand Prix in Europe.
Gilbert Pendleton