Hamilton 'clearly not where he wanted to be'

While he was on the heels of Charles Leclerc (even in front of him in EL2) during the first sessions at Suzuka, Lewis Hamilton had a very complicated qualifying session. The seven-time world champion could only manage eighth fastest time, while his garage neighbor will start from the second row of the grid this Sunday. It was particularly in Q3 that Hamilton had his greatest difficulties, falling more than three tenths behind the other Ferrari. In the ultra-competitive world of Formula 1 version 2025, this translates into four positions of difference…

The Scuderia's newcomer is also surprised to have improved only two of his three sectors during his last lap. He actually went slower in the second section of the Japanese track... while he had a big slide during his first flying lap! Enough to find himself in a position he clearly wouldn't have wanted, as he explained on the official F1 website.

“I struggled overall throughout the qualifying session. When we got to Q3, I couldn't improve my time. I had a huge oversteer in the second sector on my first lap, and on the second lap I only lost time in that sector… It's definitely not where I wanted to be.”

The No. 44 driver, however, hasn't lost sight of this Sunday's race. The weather forecast indicates that rain could spice up this third round of the season. After a downpour poorly managed by his team in Melbourne, there's no doubt that Lewis Hamilton wants to set the record straight in difficult conditions. "I'm still motivated for the race; it can still be a lot of fun from where I'm starting." The answer will be this Sunday, starting at 7 a.m. French time.

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