Lewis Hamilton was noticeably downbeat following a disappointing qualifying performance at the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion could only extract ninth place on the grid from his upgraded Ferrari, a disappointing six places behind his teammate Charles Leclerc who finished P3.
Despite the Scuderia bringing a substantial upgrade package to their Bahrain campaign, Hamilton struggled to extract the performance from his car, finishing a full second behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, pole-sitter.
On talking with the media, including Motorsport.com following his Q3 appearance, he was brief and self-critical.
“It was pretty straightforward. Yeah, not much to say,” he said with frustration, shouldering the blame for his lacklustre outing today. “I’m just not doing a good enough job on my side, so I just gotta keep improving it,” he admitted.
Q3 was complicated by a deleted lap for track limits, which didn’t do him any favours mentally. When questioned as to whether this affected his mindset on his final runs, he answered:
“It didn’t help, but it wasn’t the worst-case scenario.”
His Monegasque team-mate qualified third, 0.334 seconds behind Piastri’s McLaren and just 0.166 seconds behind George Russell’s Mercedes. This contrast in performance wasn’t overlooked by the former Mercedes driver.
“Yeah, it’s good. The car is good enough, which is good.”
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Giuseppe Cacace – AFP – Getty Images
Ferrari’s upgrade package was the first of the season – a floor overhaul for what they expect to be marginal gains. The team has been struggling against the top three teams, Mercedes, McLaren, and Red Bull, but it’s hoping this upgrade can open the operating window of the scarlet cars.
“The upgrades are definitely working,” Hamilton said after Friday practice. Looking ahead to tomorrow’s race, Hamilton is hoping he can secure a “top five” finish, as he also confirmed the aforementioned “deficit” had been resolved.
“Hopefully top five,” Hamilton confirmed. “I’ll try and see if I can get it to top 5, we’ll see.”
Perhaps most concerning is his uncertainty on his performance going forward. After being asked where he can improve, the driver fell flat.
“I really don’t know… I really don’t know. I don’t have a lot of answers for you guys.”
There seems to be genuine confusion about where he can extract further performance from his SF-25. When being asked about his visible disappointment, he admitted: “It’s definitely not a good feeling, for sure.”
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