Ferrari Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton has revealed that his team has just one day before the Hungarian Grand Prix to find the perfect setup on his SF-25 F1 car. Hamilton complained of balance problems after the first two free practice sessions on Friday and suggested that tire temperatures may have also contributed to the issue.
Hamilton comes off the back of a positive race weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, where he finished P7 after starting the race from the pit lane. However, the start of the race weekend at the Hungaroring has not been in line with his expectations, after he finished P6 in FP2.
His teammate Charles Leclerc has higher chances of securing a podium finish after finishing third in both practice 1 and 2. Speaking to the media after the second practice, Hamilton said:
“Today was not a good day for me. Big, big struggle with the balance of the car and yeah, a lot different to the previous years I’ve been here.”
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When asked about the problem, the seven-time world champion elaborated:
“We tried two different things.We tried rectifying some of the balance problems we had in P1. We changed the car for P2, and it’s just inconsistent, very, very inconsistent balance from corner to corner.
“So you can’t say it’s just understeer. You can’t just say it’s oversteer. It’s just far from being on rails and very, very out of balance. But I think it’s probably something to do with maybe tyre temperatures or something. So we’re gonna try and figure that out for tomorrow.”
Asked if he would be able to match Leclerc’s pace in qualifying, Hamilton highlighted that Leclerc is more comfortable with the SF-25 and thus ruled himself out of a potential podium finish. He said:
“I mean, Charles has been quick today. I mean, he’s been generally happy with the car. For me, I’m quite far off, so I highly, highly doubt it.”
Leclerc, however, is focusing on beating the dominant McLarens driven by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Speaking on the chance of out-qualifying them, he said:
“It’s going to be very tough. They seem to be a step forward. But never say never. I mean, the feeling with the car has been pretty positive so far. We’ve got to do some steps more in the right direction for tomorrow, but, but for now, the feeling is good.”
He added:
“I hope we can do something better than P3.”