Breaking: ‘Devastated’ Lewis Hamilton makes alarming Max Verstappen C…read more
‘Devastated’ Lewis Hamilton makes alarming Max Verstappen C…read more
Lewis Hamilton cut a visibly dejected figure after being bundled out of qualifying in Q2 at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, describing the result as “devastating” and drawing an unfavourable comparison between his Ferrari SF-25 and Max Verstappen’s all-conquering Red Bull.
For the second race in succession the seven-time world champion failed to progress to the pole-deciding Q3 shoot-out, an outcome that leaves him starting 11th on Sunday, one place ahead of Charles Leclerc. The setback stung all the more because Imola is Ferrari’s de facto home round, with grandstands packed full of scarlet-clad Tifosi expecting their new star signing to fight near the front.
Speaking to reporters from RacingNews365 moments after climbing out of the cockpit, Hamilton did not disguise his disappointment. “I genuinely feel gutted. The balance felt sweet, the brakes were in the window, the set-up was where I wanted it—yet the lap time just wasn’t there,” he sighed. The Briton pinpointed the rapid opening Esses of Turns 2 and 3 as the clearest illustration of the deficit. “When you watch Max through that sequence he’s on rails; we simply can’t match the speed he’s carrying,” Hamilton admitted. “We bolted on a fresh set of C6 softs at the end, hoping the grip would come to us, but the tyre never switched on.”
Ferrari had arrived at Imola with cautious optimism after correlating recent wind-tunnel updates, but Friday practice hinted that outright performance was still lacking—and qualifying confirmed it. While Verstappen dipped into the 1-minute 14.7-second bracket, Hamilton could only muster a 1-15.7, a full second adrift. “That gap is enormous at this level,” he said, shaking his head. “You try to convince yourself there’s a tenth or two in the driver, but not a second.”
The sombre mood contrasted sharply with the carnival atmosphere in the stands, where Ferrari had released extra tickets to meet demand for Hamilton’s first competitive outing at Imola in red. “It looks like a sell-out tomorrow, which is amazing,” he acknowledged. “That makes the result hurt even more because you want to give them something to cheer.”
Asked where improvement must come from, Hamilton pointed to both mechanical grip and aero efficiency. “The car feels planted in the slower stuff, but when the speed climbs the rear just washes out. We’ll sift through the data overnight and aim to salvage as many points as possible in the race. There’s always hope—especially with unpredictable weather around this place—but we need to find fundamental pace, not just rely on strategy or safety cars.”
For now, though, Hamilton’s Imola weekend threatens to be a damage-limitation exercise rather than the triumphant Italian showcase he—and Ferrari’s faithful—had envisioned.
