Lewis Hamilton had a sobering qualifying for Ferrari at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday. Hamilton starts the race down in ninth, a world apart from his teammate.
Charles Leclerc appeared to make the most of Ferrari’s upgrade package as he took third on the grid behind Oscar Piastri and George Russell. Leclerc was three-tenths off the McLaren driver’s benchmark.
Hamilton, however, was an alarming six-tenths adrift of the sister car. He was leapfrogged by Williams driver Carlos Sainz – the man he replaced at Ferrari – at the end of Q3.
While he’d hope to be making progress, P9 represents his worst qualifying of the season so far. He saw his first lap of Q3 deleted for a track limits breach and couldn’t get close to the car’s potential with his second effort.
Lewis Hamilton profusely apologises to Ferrari after Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying
After the chequered flag, Hamilton asked Ferrari race engineer Riccardo Adami where he’d be lining up on the grid. He sounded disconsolate when he heard the answer.
He didn’t attempt to blame the car for his poor performance. The seven-time world champion had vowed to produce a stronger showing after an underwhelming race in Japan.
“I’m sorry guys. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry,” he replied.
Hamilton’s Sprint pole and victory in China is becoming an increasingly distant memory. Many were concerned about how he’d fare in qualifying compared to the masterful Leclerc after his 19-5 defeat against Russell last season.
The 40-year-old had struggled during practice and was lagging behind in Q1 and Q2 too. The only hope will be that it’s far easier to overtake at the Bahrain Grand Prix than it was in Japan, but that relies on him having confidence in the car.
Lewis Hamilton is running one part from ‘ghost’ Mercedes car after Ferrari upgrade
Karun Chandhok says Hamilton hasn’t looked ‘happy’ throughout the weekend. Ferrari won’t panic just yet, but the hype during the off-season is rapidly fizzling out.
Fred Vasseur worked with Hamilton in the junior categories and he may now have to rely on his interpersonal skills. The 105-time race-winner appeared to lose confidence in his single-lap abilities last year, and Ferrari must prevent a similar spiral this time.
According to F1 tech expert Sam Collins, Ferrari have taken inspiration from the 2022 Mercedes with their Bahrain updates. Collins says the aero beneath the wing mirror is reminiscent of the W13.
Hamilton said driving that car felt like there was a ‘ghost’ in the cockpit at times. Ferrari have taken a risk by copying one of its features, but it’s clearly working for Leclerc.
