Lewis Hamilton pinpoints Ferrari's tactical call on tires that ultimately hurt him in F1 Azerbaijan GP qualifying

Lewis Hamilton believes that a shortage of medium tires contributed to his Q2 elimination in qualifying for the 2025 Azerbaijan GP. Speaking to the media including Sportskeeda, after the session, the Ferrari driver explained that the team’s setup and tire direction made it difficult to execute a stronger result.

Hamilton had run consistently inside the top 10 through practice and the early stages of qualifying. In Q2, however, despite topping the first run, he was unable to improve on his second attempt and fell out of the top 10. Unlike recent weekends, he appeared more uncomfortable with the car, though he was not downbeat about the pace or the result.

With wind sensitivity and falling track temperatures unsettling several drivers, the session extended to more than two hours with six red flags, which proved chaotic. Lewis Hamilton, however, did not attribute his struggles to the conditions, instead pointing to the limited tire allocation.

Running with only two sets of mediums, he felt the car did not feel as strong as it had in FP2, where he topped the time sheets. Despite the setback, Hamilton highlighted positives to carry forward into the rest of the weekend.

Asked by Sportskeeda if wind sensitivity was a contributing factor to his qualifying woes, Lewis Hamilton said:

“No. One of the things that kind of factored into it was a bit of a direction that the team was pushing for us to go, something with some of the setup. That didn't feel as good as P2. But I felt like we made a lot of progress and we were looking really strong. I didn't make any mistakes. It's just then, because I was on and we were on the back foot with only two mediums, we were thinking of running, having two mediums in Q3. You've got to get to Q3 first, so ultimately just not the best execution. So, definitely disappointed with lots of positives to take.”

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Lewis Hamilton reckons that medium tire call was the right one but not enough

Lewis Hamilton believes Ferrari’s decision to run the medium tire in Baku qualifying was the right call, given the compound’s pace advantage in the conditions. The seven-time champion explained that the medium setting offered around three-tenths of a second over the soft setting, making it the quicker option for the session.

The Briton added that Ferrari alternated strategies between himself and teammate Charles Leclerc, starting on the medium before switching to the soft later in the session. He felt the approach was logical, even if it ultimately contributed to his Q2 exit.

Asked if he ran out of tire life towards the end, Lewis Hamilton said:

“The medium tire was just much quicker.”

Asked why Ferrari chose to opt for medium when he had committed to the softs earlier and was quicker, the Briton replied:

“Basically, the team chose to run me on a medium in Q2 and Charles was meant to run it in the second run at Q2. They opted because everyone else wasn't out on them. I opted to keep it and then all the top ten basically had three mediums. We knew that the mediums were quicker by let’s say three tenths or something like that. And we should have brought it in on the Q2, really.”

Lewis Hamilton will line up 12th for the Azerbaijan GP, with Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc only two places ahead in tenth. Leclerc’s qualifying ended prematurely after he clipped the wall at Turn 15, triggering the fifth red flag of the session.

Both Ferraris will start outside the top five, but with Baku’s unpredictable conditions, including weather changes, tire degradation, and the likelihood of a safety car, the team sees opportunities to recover with a strategic approach on Sunday.