Grateful Hamilton: Q3 at the Dutch GP, Seeks Improvement with Ferrari

Hamilton: Thankful to reach Q3 at the Dutch Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton expressed his satisfaction after qualifying for Q3 in the Dutch Grand Prix, highlighting that he feels more comfortable with his Ferrari this season. The British driver, who has had a complicated start with Ferrari, described his performances prior to the August break as “useless”, even suggesting the need for changes in the Italian team. However, Hamilton showed a more positive countenance after qualifying, although Ferrari still seems distant from the fight for the podium. Hamilton placed seventh on the grid, one place behind his teammate, Charles Leclerc.

“It’s definitely encouraging to get a better result, at least on my side of the garage, because the guys in the garage deserve it, and the team deserves it,” Hamilton commented on Saturday.

Lewis Hamilton

The seven-time world champion added: “I’m happy to be there, but we’re not where we want to be. Being seven tenths, six tenths of a second away in qualifying on a track like this is a lot, so we have to understand what that is because Charles is on pole in the last race, but naturally we still have that deficit, we’ve had it all year.”

Hamilton, who had failed to reach Q3 in the two races prior to the break, starting from sixteenth position in Belgium and twelfth in Hungary, explained that he tried a different approach during the weekend. “I’m not going to go into details, but I made some adjustments before I got here and over the weekend, and it’s been much smoother,” he added. Furthermore, Hamilton mentioned that the car was unpredictable on Friday, but that changes were made that resulted in progress. “I haven’t been in Q3 for a while, so I’m grateful for that,” he stated. Hamilton also highlighted the stability in the modifications made to the car, focusing on small adjustments to gain confidence. “We have been trying to gain more and more confidence in the car and I think that’s what has happened in the last two days,” he said. Despite not expecting a radical improvement overnight, Hamilton was determined to have a good weekend, especially before Ferrari’s home race at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. “It’s important to have a solid weekend in general, the last ones have been a nightmare. I’ll go to bed early tonight and come back strong tomorrow, hopefully I’ll have a solid day,” he concluded.

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