F1 | Lewis Hamilton to start Qatar sprint from pit lane after Ferrari SF-25 wing and setup changes. Lewis Hamilton will start the Qatar GP Sprint from the pit lane.

After struggles in qualifying and an early exit in SQ1, British driver Lewis Hamilton will start this afternoon’s Sprint Race from the pit lane due to setup changes made on his Ferrari, including the replacement of the rear wing. He will not be the only one, as Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll, and Franco Colapinto will also begin the race from the pit lane.

Following the difficulties experienced in Friday’s short qualifying session, Lewis Hamilton opted to modify the setup of his Ferrari under parc fermé conditions, which forced him to start from the pit lane for the Sprint.

The seven-time world champion had struggled particularly in medium- and high-speed corners, where he felt a lack of rear-end support. After a FP1 session where he had not felt completely comfortable, he decided to adjust the car’s setup just before qualifying, installing a higher-downforce rear wing that had never been tested in the first and only practice session.

However, even this targeted adjustment intended to improve rear stability did not yield the expected results: Lewis Hamilton failed to pass the SQ1 cut and was immediately eliminated. His disappointment was evident in the brief post-qualifying interviews, where he openly expressed frustration over being knocked out in the first session for the second consecutive race, following Las Vegas.

This outcome contrasts sharply with Lewis Hamilton’s performance at the start of the second half of the season, when he appeared closer to his teammate. On a high-speed track like Qatar, however, lacking confidence in the car makes it nearly impossible to push to the limit and gain the crucial tenths of a second, as seen yesterday.

For this reason, Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton decided to make further adjustments before the Sprint, working on suspension settings and the rear wing. The British driver will return to the configuration tested in FP1 and later confirmed by Charles Leclerc in qualifying. Despite starting from the pit lane, running continuously in the Sprint, which will resemble more of an FP2 session, will provide valuable data collection opportunities.

Lewis Hamilton will not be the only Ferrari driver starting from the pit lane: Alpine drivers Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly, along with Lance Stroll, will also miss the starting grid. On the Canadian’s Aston Martin, several steering components have been replaced, energy management software parameters adjusted, and modifications made to the outer diffuser.