Lewis Hamilton says he and Mercedes were “going round and round” prior to qualifying in order to get his W12 into a “happy place.”
Hamilton trailed Red Bull rival Max Verstappen through much of the weekend’s action, with the Dutchman opening a sizeable seven-tenths advantage during final practice.
Verstappen preserved his position through qualifying, taking pole position, with Hamilton finishing a quarter of a second down in second place.
“It’s been a really, really hard weekend,” he said. “Mentally, and not physically, but just trying to get the car into a happy place.
“You wouldn’t believe how many changes I’ve made since practice one, going round and round, chasing the tail, ending up coming back to something similar to where we started. Generally, I am happy in the car all weekend.
“[Red Bull have] been incredibly quick. You see they have a [fresh] engine for this weekend. They’re quick down the straights. I think it was a lot of time down the straights today.
“We’ve got a race on our hands and we’re loving the battle. We are going to keep pushing, keep fighting and giving it everything.”
Mercedes swapped chassis between Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas prior to the weekend but the world champion dismissed any “myths” over performance variation and stressed it is “basically the same cockpit with your own settings.”
Hamilton emphasised his satisfaction at getting a front-row spot as he strives to maintain his unbeaten record at the venue.
“In practice, as I said, it was a real struggle and our long run pace, I think they were a tenth or two quicker than us on the long run,” he said.
“But my car is in a much different place now so I am just going to stay hopeful, do everything I can.
“Obviously in second you’ve got a fighting chance down to Turn 1 and there’s going to be some interesting strategy tomorrow.
“Maybe it will rain so you potentially get to see the rain masters do their thing. I am excited.”
![Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen [pictured with Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore] is stern in his belief Mercedes has acted correctly](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Alpine-Steve-Nielsen-Flavio-Briatore-350x250.webp)
![Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen [pictured with Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore] is stern in his belief Mercedes has acted correctly](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Alpine-Steve-Nielsen-Flavio-Briatore-360x180.webp)
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