Spanish GP qualifying: Lewis Hamilton stays optimistic, podium within reach for Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton finishes fifth in Spanish GP qualifying despite Ferrari’s struggles.

Anonymous Ferrari cars in Spanish GP qualifying, but Lewis Hamilton still hopes for the podium. Meanwhile, McLaren dominates again.

Once again, Ferrari disappoints expectations. Lewis Hamilton, clearly struggling during the Friday and Saturday practice sessions – during which he also complained about the poor drivability of his SF-25 – managed to limit the damage by securing fifth place in the Spanish GP qualifying. No better is his teammate, Charles Leclerc – on whom fans had pinned the highest hopes after FP3 – who will start from seventh place. There are still hopes in the strategy Ferrari will adopt for Sunday’s race: the Monegasque, in fact, did not go out on track for a second attempt in Q3 to save a set of soft tires. The front row is again taken by the two McLarens, with Oscar Piastri first and Norris second. Completing the Saturday “podium” is a brilliant Max Verstappen, the only strong Red Bull driver, who suffers from a struggling Yuki Tsunoda: the Japanese driver will start from the last position.

Lewis Hamilton’s goal
“I like to think I have the car to fight for the podium tomorrow,” said the seven-time world champion to Sky. “For some reason, in qualifying on a single lap, we don’t have the car to fight for pole position. Somehow, Red Bull and McLaren in particular, are extremely fast on the single lap, but I think our race pace is at a higher level compared to theirs. So I expect tomorrow to be able to bring out that pace and attack whoever is ahead. Getting on the podium is my goal. We’ll need to be aggressive from the first corner!”

Finally, Hamilton jokes with Mara Sangiorgio: “How do you say it in Italian? Maximum attack!”