Lewis Hamilton is targeting his inaugural Grand Prix podium driving for Ferrari, having qualified fifth in Spain for Sunday`s race as the team`s leading driver.
Following a challenging Friday session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which he described as `not fun`, Hamilton matched his best qualifying position since joining Ferrari. He outpaced his teammate Charles Leclerc, who secured seventh place, for only the second time in nine attempts.
Hamilton reported that his SF-25 became “much more drivable” and “much more enjoyable” after the team successfully resolved an issue with the car`s floor. According to the team, this problem had significantly reduced downforce during Friday`s second practice, where Hamilton finished 11th.
Starting behind the dominant McLarens, Max Verstappen of Red Bull, and George Russell from Mercedes, Hamilton is focusing on moving forward during the 66-lap race. The event is anticipated to feature varied approaches to the likely two-stop strategy.
Speaking to the media, Hamilton commented, “I`m looking forward to it. I got a bit of a long run yesterday. It will be close between everybody. It`s amazing how close everybody is. Half a tenth can put you from sixth to 11th.”
He added, “The long run will be challenging for everybody. Most people have softs and one medium. Charles and a couple others have two mediums. Which tyres are the best? Which strategy is the best? The key will be getting a good start.”
Setting his objective for the race, Hamilton stated, “My goal is to try and get a podium. I`ve not had one for God knows how long.”
While Hamilton has achieved top-three finishes in both Sprint races this season (a win in China and third in Miami), his last genuine Grand Prix podium was a second place for Mercedes at the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November, 11 races ago. Notably, Hamilton has only secured one podium finish in his last 18 race starts.
Leclerc Explains Tyre Choice: `My fault if it doesn`t pay off`
Charles Leclerc, Hamilton`s teammate, is also aiming for a top-three result, although he faces a more significant challenge from his seventh-place starting position due to a strategic decision that impacted his Q3 performance.
Instead of attempting a second run on new soft tyres during the final qualifying phase, Leclerc opted for only a single attempt at the beginning. This initially placed him fourth, but he was later overtaken by Verstappen, Hamilton, and Kimi Antonelli during their second runs.
Leclerc chose to use an extra set of soft tyres during practice instead of the more durable mediums. This means he has an additional set of medium tyres available for the race.
Explaining his choice, Leclerc said, “I had no tyres left. I think we were one of the only cars to have only four new sets of softs for the whole of qualifying. All the others around us had five new softs.”
He continued, “So I already knew it was going to be difficult and I only wanted to use three softs, which is making our life a lot more difficult. I take responsibility for it because the team had pushed for a different way, but I`m quite happy with my choice. Yes, I sacrificed today, I hope it will pay off tomorrow. If it doesn`t, it`s my fault.”
Leclerc, who has achieved two podiums this season, including a win in Monaco last week, stated his target for race day when asked: “The podium. I think the race pace is strong, it depends how much we are going to overtake.”
Marcus Prine