Lewis Hamilton: “Others have improved. We made changes and now have more oversteer” | China qualifying

A bitter afternoon
After the joy of winning the sprint race in the morning, Lewis Hamilton’s afternoon in China was far less satisfying. The Ferrari driver was unable to replicate his strong performances from earlier in the weekend at the Shanghai circuit and had to settle for fifth place in qualifying, which set the grid for tomorrow’s Grand Prix.

Once again, he outperformed his teammate Charles Leclerc—something that has been a constant this weekend—but both Ferrari cars will have to start from the third row. It’s not an ideal situation, especially considering the uncertainty of tire degradation, a factor that could particularly impact cars running in traffic without clean air.

More oversteer
Speaking to Sky Sport F1 after Q3, the seven-time Formula One world champion admitted he left a couple of tenths on the table, which could have put him on the second row. He also highlighted some setup changes made to the SF-25 single-seater between the sprint and Q1.

“I could have been a couple of tenths higher, but I really struggled to find the right balance in the car this afternoon,” Lewis Hamilton explained. “What changed compared to yesterday? Everyone else improved. We made a few changes, some small adjustments to the car, but in the end, we ended up with a lot more oversteer.” – the British driver concluded at the end of the qualifying session for the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.