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Fans reacted in disbelief as Lewis Hamilton revealed his goal to manage a finish within the top 10 in the 2025 F1 Saudi Arabian GP. He has been struggling for pace in the recent races and only expects to score a few points in Jeddah.
Hamilton's move to Ferrari this season hasn't let him perform at his peak so far, as he has been spending time acquainting himself with the car. As mentioned, his pace in Japan and Bahrain was largely hampered compared to that of his teammate and competitors, and the situation seems to be continuing in Saudi Arabia.
Hamilton finished the second practice session in P13, over a second off of Lando Norris at the top. Considering his teammate Charles Leclerc finished the session in P4, this performance was below par for the Briton. As he mentioned during a post-session interview, Lewis Hamilton is only hoping for a top-10 finish in the race, expecting to score some points.
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"Not the greatest [day]," Lewis Hamilton said. "I don't know mate, for me just trying to get into the Top 10 tomorrow."
This was quite a pessimistic preview from Hamilton, considering how he has performed on the track in the past. Fans on social media reacted in disbelief as they hoped for him to get more competitive.
"How tf (the fu*k) did we get to this point..."
"Lost his confident and mindset after 21’ - mercedes era," claimed another fan.
"My heart keeps breaking over and over again 😔," a user expressed their disappointment.
Despite the general overview, some users were still optimistic that Hamilton would get back to performing at the top next season. They claimed that the 2022 regulations have hampered his driving technique.
"Car is terrible regs don’t suit his driving style bring on 2026," a fan wrote.
"2026 perhaps? Still a way to go before giving up though," another fan mentioned.
"We just have to survive till europe cl," another wrote.
Lewis Hamilton points out issue with lack of grip at Jeddah on Friday
During the first practice session on Friday, many drivers, including the Ferraris, struggled for grip as the track temperatures soared. However, as the sun came down and the second session kicked off, teams seemed to be performing much better, however, that wasn't the case for Ferrari.
Charles Leclerc was able to set the fastest lap on the medium tire compound, but as the grid moved to the softs for qualifying simulations, he struggled to keep his position and dropped to P4. His teammate Lewis Hamilton later confirmed the same, revealing that the car faced a lack of grip on the soft tire.
"There were a few bits through the session that felt good and just once we get to the soft tire, it’s not there. We’ll make some changes overnight and hope tomorrow we can come back stronger."
It would be extremely important to have a sufficient grip on the soft tire till qualifying because that would very much decide both Hamilton and Leclerc's starting position on the grid later today.
