Lewis Hamilton has suggested areas of improvement Ferrari needs to work on might overshadow its decision to develop its 2026 Formula 1 car.
In the build-up to this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur revealed that it opted to shift focus to 2026’s machine as early as April.
This was largely down to the inherent problems with the current SF-25 and the likelihood of being unable to catch up to McLaren.
It will doubtlessly place a great deal of hope on the team to be in a position to challenge for honours next year, as F1 begins a new era of technical regulations.
But Hamilton, speaking after being knocked out of Q1 for the second successive qualifying session at the Qatar Grand Prix, cryptically said other factors may stunt that belief.
“There are other things that are needing attention, so that’s about it,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
When pushed on whether having little to no development from an aerodynamic perspective has been demoralising for him, Hamilton insisted he agreed with the decision.
But he reiterated that other underlying problems within the Maranello-based squad need attending to before it can fully challenge.
“Development’s not been the issue,” he said. “I wanted them to move to next year’s car, but I wanted to make sure we started early.
“I was in full support of that, because it’s a long year with what we had. There’s just other things that need to be worked on.”
Hamilton rules out Ferrari comeback in Qatar
Hamilton bemoaned the backwards steps taken on his car across the weekend in Doha, after finishing a dismal 17th in the Sprint.
He indicated there were areas of improvement between the Sprint and qualifying, but admitted, “I think the early session was looking pretty decent and then I just didn’t get the last lap.”
The Sprint saw minimal overtaking, partly caused by a significantly short DRS zone on the start-finish straight.
When asked whether he could build a push through the field on race day, Hamilton was sceptical, citing the Sprint’s distinct lack of on-track action.
“Not really,” he said. “You saw in the Sprint there’s no overtaking, so I’ll try something different, a strategy maybe, we’ll see.”
READ MORE – Oscar Piastri heads McLaren 1-2 to take pole position for F1 Qatar GP
Discussion about this post