Feeling improving
So far the Zandvoort weekend has been anything but ideal for Lewis Hamilton. The English Ferrari driver struggled in the Sprint, where he did not go beyond seventh place while his teammate Charles Leclerc crossed the finish line in second place. In qualifying, however, somewhat surprisingly, the Englishman took advantage of Leclerc’s troubles in managing the power unit and preceded his teammate, although only placing fifth. Both Ferraris will therefore start this afternoon in the last Dutch GP from the third row.
Read more Meteo Zandvoort: dry race with 19°C air temperature
Yet yesterday Hamilton, after qualifying, chatting in the mixed zone with journalists present in Zandvoort, seemed more optimistic and confident than one might have expected. The seven-time world champion, referring to today’s race and his feeling with the SF-26, said literally “The car was much better, I’m much happier with it, I’m excited for tomorrow” “The car was much better, I’m much happier, I’m excited for tomorrow (today, editor’s note)“. Words that suggest how #44 has a plan in mind at least to challenge the podium zone.
Strategy is the key
The problem in qualifying according to Hamilton was not being able to get the tires sufficiently up to temperature. The hypothesis, however, is that this difficulty could turn into an advantage in the race, allowing the two Ferraris to manage wear better than rivals: “I think our race pace was better today – Hamilton commented again – mine was not exceptional, but Charles’ in particular was good, and I think the car gives much better feelings. I think it will go better in the race. I believe we will be able to manage the tires until the end and strategy will be fundamental“.
Read more The qualification masks McLaren’s problems and amplifies Ferrari’s
Regarding the problems Leclerc had with the power unit setup, Hamilton did not have similar feedback: “I think we also made a change – he said about it, the former Mercedes driver – but it was a rather simple thing“. And that, evidently, did not create problems.
Read more Leclerc: “The Ferrari SF-26 is a ‘race’ car and on tracks like this it doesn’t help”
