The Ferrari driver will now have to fight back from seventh on the starting grid after a challenging qualifying session in Melbourne.
Disappointing qualifying for the Ferrari driver
Lewis Hamilton had shown impressive pace during FP3, confirming he was particularly sharp this weekend in Australia. However, qualifying proved more complicated, as technical issues caused difficulties for the Ferrari drivers.
The battery experienced some setbacks, particularly in Q2, where the SF-26 cars lost significant time in Sector 2. The team managed to fix the problem towards the end of Q2, allowing Charles Leclerc to set the second-fastest time, just four tenths off George Russell.
Challenges in Q3 and starting from seventh
In Q3, the Ferraris could not go beyond fourth with Charles Leclerc, while Lewis Hamilton ended up in seventh, less than two-tenths behind Isack Hadjar, who led the non-Mercedes drivers in the session.
Lewis Hamilton did not hide his disappointment after qualifying, aware that overtaking during the race will not be easy. “In Q1, I felt very strong, I was in a great position, but then in Q2 I lost power,” Lewis Hamilton told Sky Sport. “We lost our rhythm and couldn’t get comfortable again. There’s definitely much more potential in the car; we could have been third or fourth. Today, the hardest part for us was managing the battery energy, we ran into some issues. The race is a total unknown—overtaking will be tougher than usual, and I really don’t know what to expect. Will I gain positions at the start? I hope so, we’ll see.”
Lewis Hamilton’s struggle with battery deployment at Albert Park shows the technical volatility inherent in the 2026 era of Formula 1. While the raw pace of the SF-26 suggests Ferrari has the hardware to challenge at least for “best of the rest,” the software-driven energy management remains a hurdle that could define the British driver’s ability to climb back through the field in Sunday’s season opener in Australia.
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