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Lewis Hamilton claimed that his error in the last corner during his final qualifying lap possibly cost him a front-row start at the British Grand Prix on Saturday, July 5. The 7x F1 champion has been in superb form throughout the British GP race weekend. Unlike his form earlier in the year, the driver was hooking things up pretty well until his last qualifying lap at Silverstone.
In Q1, he was very lucky to make it through to Q2, as Ferrari misjudged the fuel levels for the car. From Q2 onwards, however, the strategy was fine, and it allowed both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to express themselves in the car. It was this form that meant the duo turned heads with their pace late in Q2.
In the first round of flying laps in Q3, Lewis Hamilton put together a lap that was good enough for P2. The driver had the Ferrari under him and was comfortably getting the laptime out of it. On the final lap, however, the 7x champion was a couple of tenths up on Oscar Piastri's benchmark, but in the final corner, he made an error that ended up costing him.
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The driver would end up qualifying in only P5 alongside his teammate Charles Leclerc, who would be in P6. Looking back at the session, the driver revealed that it all came down to the final corner mistake, which possibly cost him a front-row start. Talking to Sky Sports, he said:
"Pretty decent qualifying. It's generally been a decent weekend so far. I'm definitely feeling more comfortable with the set-up of the car and the balance of the car. Right up until the last corner I think I was close to second on the grid, but had a bit of understeer and ended up losing a tenth-and-a-bit. In Q3 run two [Red Bull] always come out of nowhere and they are always quick. It's not a surprise. In Q1 the timing was off and we only had one lap of fuel and there was still time on the table. "
He added:
"It was a big, big risk and definitely was not well executed and we executed better in the next two. I think it will be very, very hard to beat the McLarens or the Red Bulls but when there is a will there is a way. I'll give it absolutely everything tomorrow. We are a little bit far behind where I want to be but with the weather and this amazing crowd..."
This is the first time in the season that Lewis Hamilton has outqualified Charles Leclerc purely on performance.
Lewis Hamilton's teammate Charles Leclerc shares his disappointment after British GP qualifying
Lewis Hamilton's teammate Charles Leclerc would start his race in P6, but the driver was very unhappy about the result. Just like Hamilton, Leclerc was in contention for pole position and the front row, but the error late in the lap cost him as well. Talking to Sky Sports, the driver revealed that there were some teething issues with the Ferrari that hurt them. He said:
"We have some issues on the car that we are trying to drive around, it's not always easy, but it's not an excuse. You start from sixth, to try and find clear air is going to be very difficult. I'll try my best."
Ferrari's performance levels at Silverstone have been quite impressive so far this weekend. It would be interesting to see if Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton can extract a podium or maybe even a win on Sunday.
