Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc dropped into the midfield at Imola after being eliminated in Q2, and the Briton did not hold back in his criticism.
Qualifying at the Emilia-Romagna circuit delivered a major upset, especially considering this is Ferrari’s home Grand Prix. Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were knocked out in Q2, and driver number 44 spoke pessimistically about the race ahead at Imola.
It wasn’t the only subject he touched on during interviews. Comparing with other teams, he pointed out that the problem at Ferrari right now isn’t him or Charles, but the car itself.
Lewis Hamilton’s expectations for the Imola GP
The Emilia-Romagna circuit doesn’t offer much room for overtaking or many strategic variables. Given the pit lane length—around 27 seconds—making two stops would mean a significant time loss in the pits. A single pit stop is therefore the most convenient option for everyone.
Speaking about these limitations, Lewis explained: “This isn’t a great circuit to race on; it’s nice to do a single lap, but when it comes to overtaking, you get stuck in a DRS train and there’s not much movement. From a strategic point of view, we’ll try to pass them and I have the feeling that our race pace could be good. This weekend we’ve made progress, even if we’re not yet at the level we need to be.”
Comparison with rivals
The seven-time World Champion then highlighted the shortcomings of the SF-25. The new car designed in Maranello is causing plenty of headaches for both drivers, who are struggling to achieve optimal results and meet the expectations of the Tifosi. “We need more upgrades; we have to start increasing performance.
“I mean, look at Max’s rear end—it doesn’t move at all, he’s doing 6 to 10 km/h more than us through Turn 2, and we can’t match that. The same goes for McLaren, so we have to keep pushing, keep applying pressure, and I believe the guys can give their best.”
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