Lewis Hamilton was left disappointed and searching for answers after finishing only seventh in Sprint Qualifying for the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix, having felt considerably more comfortable with his Ferrari SF-26 during the weekend’s sole practice session at Zandvoort.
On the number 44 side of the Ferrari garage, the overriding feeling after Sprint Qualifying was one of frustration and a determination to understand what had gone wrong. FP1 had provided encouraging indications about the competitiveness of Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari, but those expectations were not reflected when the drivers returned to the track for the session that determined the starting grid for Saturday’s Sprint.
Ferrari introduces new SF-26 floor for Dutch GP Sprint Qualifying
Compared with the configuration used during the only free practice session at Zandvoort, both Ferrari cars were fitted with the new floor brought to the Netherlands as part of the team’s efforts to extract more performance from the SF-26. The component had not been used during FP1 and therefore made its competitive debut directly in Sprint Qualifying.
The floor forms part of Ferrari’s latest SF-26 upgrade package for Zandvoort, with the Dutch Grand Prix weekend presenting the team with an important opportunity to assess its latest aerodynamic developments under competitive conditions.
Whether the new floor contributed, even partially, to Lewis Hamilton’s difficulties should become clearer once Ferrari has completed its analysis. What is certain is that the seven-time Formula 1 world champion revealed that several small changes were made to his car between FP1 and Sprint Qualifying, after which its behaviour deteriorated dramatically.
Lewis Hamilton: ‘It was a total disaster’
“Yeah, unfortunately it wasn’t a good session, but that’s how it went,” Lewis Hamilton said after finishing seventh in Sprint Qualifying at Zandvoort.
“FP1 seemed to have gone well. Then we made a few changes to the car and when we went into qualifying it was a total disaster. We need to understand what went wrong ahead of tomorrow.”
The turnaround was particularly disappointing given the encouraging signs Ferrari had shown earlier in the day. The Zandvoort Sprint format leaves teams with very little preparation time, making the consequences of set-up decisions particularly significant when there is only one practice session before the first competitive qualifying session of the weekend.
Hamilton believes Ferrari can recover in the Dutch GP Sprint
Despite his seventh-place starting position, Lewis Hamilton believes Ferrari should have an opportunity to recover some positions in the Sprint after showing encouraging pace during FP1 earlier on Friday. The team’s immediate priority, however, is to understand exactly what changed between the two sessions and identify a solution.
That analysis will be particularly important because the Dutch Grand Prix weekend is far from over. Ferrari still has the Sprint before attention turns towards the main qualifying session and Sunday’s Grand Prix, leaving Lewis Hamilton and the engineers with further opportunities to improve the SF-26’s behaviour.
“We’ll go through the data and make a decision. We need to understand the situation and understand why it didn’t go so well. That’s it.”
Ferrari therefore faces an important investigation before the next track action at Zandvoort. With the new floor making its competitive debut and Lewis Hamilton reporting such a substantial change in the car’s behaviour following relatively minor adjustments, understanding the cause of the setback will be essential if the team is to recover over the remainder of the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix weekend.
