Hamilton matches Leclerc’s speed in Brazil, but Lewis fails to convert

Hamilton matches Leclerc’s speed in Brazil, but Lewis fails to convert. Despite showing pace comparable to Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton fails to convert in the Interlagos Sprint Qualifying.

Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari SF-25, 2025 F1

Despite the competitiveness of the Ferrari SF-25, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton approached the performance levels of Charles Leclerc, considered one of the best qualifiers in Formula 1. However, for various reasons, he has been unable to translate this pace into results. Lewis Hamilton demonstrated that he had not seen the yellow flags, ultimately avoiding a five-place grid penalty.It has not been a particularly lucky period for Lewis Hamilton. In a sport where hundredths of a second often make the difference, it is almost always the seven-time world champion who pays the highest price. In yesterday’s Sprint Qualifying at Interlagos, seven hundredths of a second proved fatal for his progression into Q3, representing the gap between Hamilton and the Nico Hulkenberg-Charles Leclerc duo (with just three thousandths of a second separating the latter two).

At the start of the season, when expectations for Ferrari appeared very different from what unfolded on track, it was widely believed that Hamilton would struggle to match Leclerc in qualifying pace.

Charles Leclerc is regarded as one of the best qualifiers currently in Formula 1 (and by some, the absolute best), while Lewis had finished the 2024 season with a 19-5 record against his then-teammate George Russell—a trend confirmed even in Sprint Qualifying (5-1). Numbers this year are no better, but the comparison with Leclerc shows that after the summer break, Hamilton made significant progress on a single lap.

Even on an off day like yesterday, data analysis reveals that in Q2 Lewis Hamilton had been ahead of Leclerc before the final corner leading onto the long straight. The usual hundredths, but in his favor, after being up by one and a half tenths at mid-lap. Ultimately, he was excluded from Q3, but in many respects, this doesn’t reflect the quality of work Lewis Hamilton has been putting in.

Beyond the disappointing performance of the car, the Briton’s single-lap pace continues to approach the benchmark set by his teammate. There were glimpses of this in Austin, where Lewis finished qualifying just 69 thousandths of a second ahead of Charles, while in Mexico the gap (this time in Leclerc’s favor) was nine hundredths.

Hamilton spared from a reprimand

Yesterday’s Sprint Qualifying could have been even harsher for Lewis Hamilton if he had received a five-place grid penalty for failing to respect the double yellow flags displayed in the final minutes of Q2 following a spin by Leclerc. The stewards summoned the Ferrari driver at the end of the session. During the hearing, Lewis explained that he had not seen the warning panels (located on the left side of the track) as he was already preparing for the upcoming right-hand corner.

Images indicate that the panel was activated just moments before Lewis Hamilton passed it, described in the FIA report as “a fraction of a second,” and that the car was already aligned for the next right-hander. Hamilton told the stewards that he saw Charles Leclerc’s car stopped at the side of the track and the subsequent green panel indicating the sector was clear.

The stewards concluded that the presence of Charles Leclerc’s car and the green panel should have alerted Hamilton that he was in a yellow-flag sector, requiring a significant reduction in speed. Telemetry from Ferrari car number 44 confirmed that Lewis Hamilton delayed lifting off the accelerator compared to previous laps but did not reduce speed within regulatory limits. Considering all factors, the final verdict was limited to a reprimand, avoiding a grid penalty that would have forced Lewis Hamilton to start the Sprint race from sixteenth position.