Sam Bird saw one sign that ‘shows’ Lewis Hamilton is ‘struggling’ in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton is enduring another difficult weekend with Ferrari at the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after only managing to qualify in P7 for Sunday’s race in Jeddah.

The 40-year-old has struggled for pace in every session at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and is now set to start the Saudi Arabian GP on the fourth row of the grid. Hamilton could only do a 1:28.201 lap in Q3, whilst Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc posted a 1:27.670 to claim P4.

It has been far from the weekend that Hamilton would have hoped for after also only setting the eighth, 13th and 12th-quickest lap times in FP1, FP2 and FP3. Ferrari surprised Hamilton with the speed he lost each sector in FP3, as well, and he struggled to improve in qualifying.

Lewis Hamilton using two new sets of tyres in Q1 ‘shows’ the Ferrari driver is ‘struggling’ in Saudi Arabia

Seven-time F1 champion Hamilton found himself on the back foot from the off in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian GP on Saturday. He would advance to Q2 with the ninth-best lap time in the opening part yet needed two bites of the cherry to avoid a shock early exit in Jeddah.

Hamilton dropped to the cusp of the elimination zone after only posting a 1:28.642 lap with his first attempt in Q1. So, Ferrari resorted to pitting the Briton to fit another new set of the soft compound Pirelli tyres, with which Hamilton would improve to a 1:28.372 to secure P9.

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But the fact Ferrari had to waste another new set of soft tyres for Hamilton to get out of Q1 was a clear sign for Sam Bird of the 104-time Grand Prix pole-sitter ‘struggling’ for speed at the Saudi Arabian GP. He also advanced to Q3 in P10 by just 0.007s to Williams’ Alex Albon.

“Lewis Hamilton left it right to the last lap to do it and I believe that was on a new set of soft tyres just to get up to P9,” Bird told BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra. “It shows he’s struggling a little bit for that pace.”

Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari must find a fix for his single-lap qualifying struggles quickly

It has been a weekend to forget so far with Hamilton off Leclerc’s speed at the Saudi Arabian GP all weekend and enduring yet further qualifying problems since joining the Scuderia. The Briton’s pole to victory in the Shanghai Sprint has been a huge red herring among his results.

Single-lap pace was once where Hamilton had no peer. Yet the 2025 F1 season has seen him struggle with Hamilton only qualifying in P8 for the Australian Grand Prix, P5 for the Chinese GP, P8 for the Japanese GP, P9 for the Bahrain GP and now also P7 for the Saudi Arabian GP.

Team principal Fred Vasseur blamed a ‘messy’ Q3 for Hamilton’s qualifying in Bahrain but his problems were persistent throughout every session in Saudi Arabia. He and the Scuderia will hope the one-week break before the Miami Grand Prix lets them find solutions very quickly.