Lewis Hamilton explains shock Ferrari decline at Chinese Grand Prix…….. read more
Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time Formula 1 world champion, has offered an explanation for his surprising performance drop during the Chinese Grand Prix weekend. The British driver, now with Ferrari, began the weekend on a high note, securing his first-ever pole position with the team after a standout performance in sprint qualifying on Friday. Hamilton was the fastest on the day, which he followed up by winning the sprint race, marking his first victory with Ferrari.
However, Hamilton’s fortune took a turn for the worse by the time the main Grand Prix qualifying took place on Saturday afternoon. Despite his earlier success, he found himself outside the top 10 during Q1, showing a significant shift from his earlier pace. Hamilton was able to recover somewhat in the following sessions, Q2 and Q3, where he improved his time and secured a P5 starting position for the race on Sunday.
On race day, Hamilton struggled to maintain his position. Despite starting from the fifth spot, he wasn’t able to make any progress and even swapped places with his teammate Charles Leclerc during the race, as his pace continued to drop. In the end, Hamilton finished just behind Leclerc, with the Ferrari duo crossing the line in P5 and P6, respectively.
However, both Ferrari drivers were disqualified from the race after the event, meaning neither Hamilton nor Leclerc would earn any points from the race, regardless of their positions. This disqualification was a major blow to Ferrari, who had hoped to capitalize on a strong race result. While Hamilton’s sprint race victory on Saturday was a silver lining for him and his new team, the drastic decline in performance from the sprint to the main event raised concerns.
Hamilton had enjoyed a commanding lead of six seconds during the sprint race, but by the time qualifying came around, he was struggling to even remain in the top 10. His experience and expertise were not enough to maintain the same level of performance throughout the weekend, leaving fans and pundits questioning Ferrari’s ability to maintain consistency under pressure. This sudden drop in form, from a sprint victory to struggling in qualifying, has added uncertainty to Ferrari’s competitiveness as the season progresses.
For Hamilton and Ferrari, the disqualification ultimately meant no points from the main race, but they can take some solace in the sprint win, which remains intact. However, the reasons behind Hamilton’s dramatic shift in pace—ranging from the high of the sprint race to the difficulties in qualifying and the Grand Prix—are likely to be a topic of analysis as they look to improve and secure better results in futu
re races.
