Lewis Hamilton has observed that his spin in qualifying for the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix Sprint was similar to team-mate Charles Leclerc’s in Canada.
Hamilton lost control of his Ferrari at the Bus Stop Chicane late in SQ1 to consign him to a premature elimination.
The Briton believes that a slight revision to the SF-25, similar to what Leclerc had implemented in Canada when he crashed in FP1 last month, led to the spin.
Following the Sprint Race, in which he finished 16th, Hamilton said he had a “new component” fitted to the car, which Leclerc also had for the first time in Montreal.
Hamilton made the revelation after the Sprint Race, in which he finished 16th, saying that the issue can be addressed with “fine-tuning”.
“Yeah, well, the positives are that I didn’t spin and I did move forward,” he expanded. “But it was a really tough race. We were all in a DRS train, which was unfortunate.
“But definitely lots to learn a lot about the upgrades that we have. I was just reflecting, part of the upgrade Charles has had since Montreal and we saw the crash that he had there.
“It was kind of similar to something that I had yesterday. So, it’s just about fine-tuning it. Yesterday was the first time running for me and I think now it’s just about fine-tuning it.”
Hamilton confident of decent qualifying result but Leclerc cautious
Hamilton said that he is confident of having the pace to qualify well for the Grand Prix, though, as he aims to rebound this weekend.
“We can make some changes between now and the quali,” he added. “Well, my actual pace in the quali was actually pretty good.
“So, not so much, I would say, in the race, but my qualifying position is obviously important here. So, I hope today is for a better result.”
Leclerc, however, was less positive, bemoaning that the car, complete with a new rear suspension upgrade, is operating close to its complete potential.
“Yeah, there’s for sure some learning to take away from a race like this,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“However, it doesn’t feel like we are very far off the maximum potential of the car.
“I don’t feel like we are out of place with the set-up or anything like that.
“So, I don’t think there’s anything in the car that makes us hope that we can fight with Red Bull or McLaren, unfortunately.”
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