The China GP qualifying session confirmed Lewis Hamilton’s excellent form, with the British driver setting the third fastest time, just under four-tenths behind pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli. However, today’s session proved far more challenging than the Sprint Qualifying, with Hamilton only managing to secure a spot on the second row at the last moment, ahead of his teammate. The Ferrari driver explained the difficulties he faced, while remaining cautious about his real chances of challenging the Mercedes cars in the race.
Hamilton: “I think I’m missing a couple of tenths”
Compared to Melbourne, Ferrari’s gap to Mercedes has more than halved, but Lewis Hamilton believes that in Shanghai the deficit could have been even smaller. The seven-time world champion made several mistakes, particularly between Turn 3 and Turn 4, which spoiled some of his laps throughout qualifying. He said: “The session was quite complicated for me. It didn’t go as smoothly as Sprint Qualifying; it wasn’t a clean run, and I made a lot of mistakes. I think the wind made it really difficult to find the right balance, so I need to work on that. I had a big problem on my first lap in Q3 and lost quite a bit, but the last lap went well. I think I could have done much better if I had been able to find the rhythm. So, I think I’m missing a couple of tenths.”
On the smaller gap to Mercedes, the Briton preferred to stay cautious: “Maybe they didn’t activate the mode they had set, I don’t know, so let’s take it with a pinch of salt. But I believe that during the break we made progress with some changes and with a few things we learned in the Sprint race. So, I’m grateful we’re closing in a bit, but whether this is a real step forward or not, we’ll obviously see in qualifying at the next race. But yes, we’re chasing, we’re hunting, and I know everyone is ready to do whatever it takes to close that gap.” – the seven-time Formula 1 world champion pointed out.
Starts and strategy, key to the race
While Charles Leclerc has clearly stated that he aims for the win in the race, Lewis Hamilton thinks it is still optimistic to believe Ferrari can beat the Mercedes cars outright, even if the Scuderia could gain ground through a strong start and, hopefully, an excellent strategy: “I think it’s highly unlikely that we’ll beat them in the race. I mean, according to our data, they have four to six tenths on race pace. We saw it in Australia; I think with a clear track they’re ahead of us at the moment. So, I don’t know, maybe with strategy, maybe something can happen, maybe with the start, maybe there’s a way. I absolutely need to make sure I don’t ruin the tires trying to stay behind them. I need to drive better tomorrow.”
In the Sprint race, Lewis Hamilton battled head-to-head with George Russell in the early laps before front-left graining forced him to ease the pace. Speaking about direct competition with Mercedes, the British driver added: “It’s about optimizing qualifying. Whether they have more energy or more engine power, we don’t know. It’s impossible to tell, but they’re simply very fast, especially in qualifying. We’re working to improve in that area, and then in the race the situation becomes a bit more balanced. I don’t know why, but I’m grateful that in the race the gap is smaller. It’s still not enough. We definitely feel the lack of power when we’re behind them. It’s really hard to keep up, and you can see they have more grip and can push longer. That’s why this morning I had a disaster. I was just trying to recover in the corners, but it didn’t make any difference, and I was just wearing out the tires.”
Kimi Antonelli, a worthy rival
Kimi Antonelli deserves a separate mention, as Lewis Hamilton has always kept a respectful eye on the Italian. The British driver warmly congratulated Antonelli as he got out of the car and reaffirmed his admiration for the Mercedes driver during the press conference: “I have to give my sincerest congratulations to this big guy, Kimi. It’s an incredible achievement to get here… Well, he took my place! And he gave his all from the very beginning, so it’s really fantastic to see him progressing and he truly deserves it. It’s an amazing record. It will take a long time before someone gets close to this.”
Lewis Hamilton’s analytical approach to the 4-6 tenth gap suggests that Ferrari’s challenge tomorrow will be one of tactical patience rather than raw speed. While the SF-26 has clearly made strides in its aero-mechanical balance, the sheer deployment capabilities of the Mercedes power unit remain the benchmark of the 2026 era. For the British driver, the Shanghai Grand Prix represents a chance to use his immense experience to bridge that technical deficit, likely by leveraging Ferrari’s superior tire life in the high-energy technical sectors. If he can stay within close distance of the W17 cars without “cooking” his front tires as he did in the Sprint, the final stint of the race could turn into a classic confrontation between Mercedes’ outright power and Lewis Hamilton’s legendary race management.
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