Lewis Hamilton has professed that he is still not at ease with Ferrari’s 2025 car, despite managing to secure a fifth-place start for the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix.
Hamilton qualified as the lead Ferrari for the second consecutive weekend as team-mate Charles Leclerc rued an error on his final qualifying lap leaving him in eighth.
Ferrari had shown potential to be engaged in the contest at the sharp end with an encouraging run in final practice that concluded with both drivers inside the top five.
But while that promise remained prevalent during Q1 and Q2, Ferrari was unable to replicate the step that others made as Hamilton ended up sixth-tenths down in Q3.
Nonetheless, Hamilton admitted he was pleased to have experienced navigating a race weekend with Ferrari without unexpected problems disrupting his preparation.
“We’ve progressed coming into today, so that was a positive,” Hamilton told media including Motorsport Week.
“More often than not we go through FP1 and then [in] the previous races FP2 has not been so great because there’s been something wrong with the car.
“Like the floor is not working, or the rear wings stop working, or there’s always been something that meant that we’re like down on downforce or something.
“So then you have a bad P2 and you’re kind of recovering in P3. But we had a good solid base yesterday, and then here today we made progress.
“We didn’t change a huge amount, and the car felt solid. We moved forward, which I think is a first of the season, so I’m grateful to be able to get to Q3.”
George Russell utilised the less sensitive C5 Medium tyre on his final run to steal pole position, but Hamilton denied that would have changed the outcome for Ferrari.
“I wasn’t comfortable on either, if I’m pretty honest,” he reviewed. “Really truthful, both tyres felt pretty much the same.
“Didn’t feel like we were able to get a lot out. Like getting a single lap out of the Medium wasn’t possible earlier on in the weekend for us and this morning.
“We thought that they were very close, so the team chose to go with Softs.”
Ferrari ‘not suited’ to Canadian GP demands
The seven-time World Champion highlighted that the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve‘s stop-start layout has exposed Ferrari’s lingering slow-speed limitations with the SF-25.
“I think probably today most progress came from my driving, so adapting the driving style,” he elaborated. “Just made a few changes.
“This car drives so much different to what I had before.
“You’re going into low-speed corners and then you’re just waiting and waiting, it doesn’t want to turn. It’s definitely not suited for this circuit.”
Hamilton targeting maiden Ferrari podium
But having expressed concern that advancing into the Q3 shootout was going to be an uphill struggle, Hamilton was relieved to have attained a place on the third row.
“Just to even get through to Q3 was like, ‘Wow, this is looking positive,’ and it is positive because we were struggling before on four sets of Softs to get through to Q3,” he recalled.
“So I was really happy with that and yeah, it could be way worse. If I was down further back I wouldn’t be feeling as good, so I’m grateful to be where I am.
“I’m not far away from the guys up ahead, so I’m really hoping that I can hold on to them and see if I can stay in the fight.”
Hamilton, a seven-time winner in Montreal, hopes that Ferrari’s decision to preserve a new set of Medium tyres will enhance his quest to take a maiden podium in red.
“On one side of history, I’ve had great, great times here and it’s a great circuit, lots can happen obviously. So for that, I’m open-minded,” the Briton said.
“The fundamental baseline of our car is not as quick as the guys up ahead clearly, quite far off.
“But we have a new Medium, most of the guys ahead have used, so hopefully there’s something we can play with.
“I’m still hopeful our race pace could be good. So if we can get the balance set right with like the front wing… I would love to move forward; the podium is still the goal.”
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