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Lewis Hamilton has a depressing outlook for the F1 Saudi Arabian GP qualifying. The Ferrari driver said he was hoping to just make the top 10.
Hamilton's start to life with Ferrari has been tough. The race weekend in China continues to be the highlight for the Brit, who secured pole position and won the sprint with the team. While that was the high point of the first four races, the rest were not as good. Lewis Hamilton was a step behind Charles Leclerc in Australia and was slower in the race than his teammate in China. He was a step behind in Japan, and the same happened in Bahrain.
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Hamilton has been trying to get to grips with the car and the team, but it has yet to click. That said, the driver came to the Saudi Arabian GP hoping to do better. However, FP1 and FP2 do not show him doing a better job, as he trailed teammate Charles Leclerc by a healthy margin in the standings.
Looking ahead to the qualifying on Saturday, April 19, Hamilton was hopeful that he would sit with the team and try to work out improvements to the car. He told the media, including Sportskeeda:
"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.”
When asked what he was targeting for qualifying, Hamilton replied that he just hoped to make it through Q3 at this stage.
"I don’t know. For me, I’m just seeing if I can get in the top 10 at the moment,” he added.
Lewis Hamilton looks back at the day
Talking about how FP1 and FP2 panned out, Lewis Hamilton pinpointed getting the tires in the right working window as the challenge on the track. Even though the race is in April compared to March last season, temperatures are higher, and teams also have the softer compounds at their disposal, getting the tires in the right window continues to be an issue. Looking back at the day, Hamilton said:
"Not the greatest. I think getting the tires working today was the issue from our side. It’s nothing to do with the team, it’s just we were struggling to get the tyres working.”
The Brit was hoping to make some improvements overnight, adding:
“Normally on Saturday it goes backwards, but there’s not a lot of backwards for me to go from where I am. Hopefully, overnight we will make some improvements to the car."
In contrast to Lewis Hamilton, his teammate Charles Leclerc had a positive day, and he was looking forward to what qualifying had in store for him.
