Lewis Hamilton has identified tyre preparation and a late Ferrari change to his Q3 run plan as two of the main factors behind a difficult qualifying session for the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion will start sixth at the Baku City Circuit after finishing 1.3 seconds behind Mercedes polesitter George Russell and around half a second behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
While Leclerc secured a place on the front row alongside Russell, Hamilton was unable to extract the same performance from the SF-26. His difficulties were not confined to the decisive final segment either, with the British driver explaining after qualifying that getting the Pirelli tyres into the correct operating window had been a problem throughout the weekend.
The result came on a day when George Russell took pole while Charles Leclerc secured a Ferrari front-row start, underlining the contrast between the two sides of the Maranello garage.
Lewis Hamilton struggles to get Pirelli tyres working in Baku
Hamilton explained to the media, including ScuderiaFans, that he had been struggling throughout the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend to make the tyres work effectively. Ahead of his sole push lap in Q3, he resorted to aggressive weaving in an attempt to generate enough temperature, but even that was not sufficient to put the rubber into the window he wanted.
The Ferrari driver expressed his frustration with the current tyres and suggested Formula 1 needed better rubber, with his comments reflecting a familiar difficulty for drivers when preparation becomes particularly important before a qualifying lap.
The problem appeared to become more pronounced as qualifying progressed. Hamilton considered Q1 relatively encouraging and felt the car itself was reasonably competitive at that stage, but his confidence declined in Q2 as he began to struggle increasingly with the rear tyres.
Those difficulties came after Ferrari had already spent the weekend searching for improvements to the SF-26, with the team making progress with deployment and set-up ahead of qualifying while continuing to encounter limitations around the Baku lap.
Ferrari Q3 run-plan change catches Hamilton out
Tyre preparation was only part of Hamilton’s frustration. After Q2, Ferrari altered his qualifying programme and elected to send him out for only one run in Q3. Hamilton explained that he had not anticipated how the revised strategy would leave him without another car ahead from which to benefit from a slipstream.
Instead, the seven-time world champion found himself effectively providing the aerodynamic assistance for Leclerc. Hamilton indicated that he spent the run with no car ahead while towing his team-mate, a situation that became particularly relevant on a circuit where the long flat-out sections can make track positioning and a well-timed slipstream valuable.
Leclerc made the opportunity count. Hamilton acknowledged that his team-mate had produced a strong qualifying performance and explained that, at the end of the lap, he had given the Monegasque a significant tow all the way towards the start-finish line.
Ferrari’s qualifying result nevertheless followed a challenging build-up in which questions had already emerged over whether the team had taken the right SF-26 set-up direction in Baku. Leclerc’s front-row position provided an important result, but Hamilton’s sixth place illustrated how difficult it remained to maximise the package consistently across both cars.
Hamilton ranks Ferrari behind Mercedes and Red Bull
Despite Leclerc earning a front-row start, Hamilton’s assessment of the competitive order remained cautious. He considered Ferrari to have only the third-fastest car in Azerbaijan, placing Mercedes and Red Bull ahead of the Scuderia on outright performance.
Red Bull’s qualifying session produced another notable result. Isack Hadjar, returning after missing the previous three races because of a wrist injury, qualified fourth and finished ahead of Max Verstappen. The four-time world champion will start four places behind his team-mate in eighth and subsequently indicated that he had encountered an engine problem.
That competitive picture also leaves Hamilton expecting a difficult race from sixth on the grid. Although Baku has several characteristics that can create opportunities, the Briton believes making progress will be challenging against cars he regards as more competitive than his Ferrari.
For Hamilton, the task is therefore clear after a qualifying session shaped by both tyre preparation and track positioning. Leclerc has given Ferrari a front-row opportunity, while Hamilton must attempt to recover from the third row after a Saturday in which he never managed to put the tyres, run plan and SF-26 performance together when it mattered most.
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