Lewis Hamilton expressed that he is “grateful” to have qualified seventh for Formula 1‘s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as he conceded he has been “nowhere” all weekend.
Hamilton came into this round aiming to build on a promising comeback drive in Bahrain, which had seen him reveal he had made a breakthrough with Ferrari’s SF-25.
But with his struggles around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit apparent throughout practice, the Briton had asserted that he was limiting his target to progressing into Q3.
Having survived a minor scare when he completed the second segment one spot above the elimination zone, Hamilton managed to advance into the top-10 shootout.
However, the seven-time champion’s sole lap in the session consigned him to seventh place, more than five-tenths behind Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc in fourth.
“It was challenging as always, qualifying for me,” Hamilton said. “I’d been nowhere all weekend. It’s 13th, I think, in almost every session.
“So honestly, I feel grateful to have got to Q3 and P7. Not a spectacular last lap, but we made improvements all weekend.
“Needed a better lap at the end, but as I said, I’m grateful to just be there. There’s still plenty of time to come.”
Hamilton struggling to gel with Ferrari car
Disregarding his promising weekend in China where he converted pole position into the Sprint win, Hamilton has been unable to rival Leclerc’s speed over a single lap.
Hamilton, whose qualifying woes were well-documented in his final season at Mercedes, has admitted he is having trouble unlocking the SF-25’s potential on low fuel.
Put to him that the car might be better in race trim as it has in previous races, Hamilton quipped: “Praying, more like.
“Trying to find the time and trying to bond with this car on a single lap is something that I’m finding very difficult.
“We don’t give up; when there’s a will, there’s a way. We keep pushing, keep trying. We’ve got some amazing support, so just keep working hard.”
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