After the 2026 F1 Dutch GP Sprint Qualifying, emotions were split in the Ferrari garage: Charles Leclerc was overall satisfied with his performance, while Lewis Hamilton lamented a different feeling in the SF-26, finishing the session in P7.
For the 2026 F1 Dutch GP, Ferrari brought another performance upgrade aimed at increasing aerodynamic load, focusing on key areas such as floor, diffuser, and beam wing. In the first and only practice session, Hamilton and Leclerc completed their runs without any issues, finishing in P4 and P5, respectively.
Sprint Qualifying started off well for Leclerc, who set the fastest time in SQ1. Both Ferrari drivers easily advanced into SQ2, where the SF-26 still showed good pace but could not quite keep up with the McLaren. On the medium tyre, Leclerc and Hamilton finished SQ2 in P3 and P5.
When it came time to determine the starting grid for tomorrow’s sprint race, teams, including Ferrari, took their time to hit the track. With two preparation laps, Leclerc put in a solid lap that earned him P3 on the grid, while a mistake saw teammate Hamilton finish Sprint Qualifying in P7.
Best Qualifying lap of the season for Leclerc
Despite being bummed to have missed out on pole in the 2026 F1 Dutch GP Sprint Qualifying, Leclerc was satisfied, ranking his lap in SQ3 as his best this season. The Monegasque takes today’s performance as a sign that Ferrari is heading in the “right direction.”
“Well, I would have preferred to start first. But at the end of the day, I’m very happy about today. Because honestly, I think it’s my best qualifying lap this year.
“That means that we are doing something right also with the feeling. Then it doesn’t mean it stays there forever. But at least it’s always good steps in the right direction.
“And especially after such a long break, you kind of want that feeling to start the second half. So it was a good effort.
“Unfortunately, we just missed pole. But at least we are more or less in the mix.”
Question mark on Ferrari race pace
Looking back to practice, which started with a slightly wet track after rain hit the track earlier today, the Monegasque noted that he was “comfortable” right from the start, but put a question mark on race pace, due to the “tricky” conditions in FP1. Hoping to find answers to the race pace question, Leclerc looks ahead to tomorrow’s sprint race after a “positive start” to the 2026 Dutch GP weekend.
“I was quite comfortable with the car since this morning. So, in terms of race pace, it’s a bit more difficult. The conditions this morning were a little bit tricky.
“So, we’ll have to wait and see for tomorrow in the sprint race. But I believe that for now, it looks like a positive start to the weekend.”
Hamilton searching for answers after 2026 F1 Dutch GP Sprint Qualifying
While Leclerc was overall satisfied with his performance in the 2026 F1 Dutch GP Sprint Qualifying, teammate Lewis Hamilton was not too pleased with his session when he spoke in the media pen.
“Not a good session, unfortunately,” the Briton said following Sprint Qualifying. “This is the way it is,” he concluded, explaining that the weekend started positively with practice, but that changes made to the SF-26 ahead of it led to Hamilton feeling like he was driving a “completely different car.” The contrasting feedback from the car across sessions will be a point of review for Ferrari and Hamilton.
“P1 felt good. We made subtle adjustments to the car, but when we got into qualifying, it was a completely different car. So, we need to figure out what went wrong. And then, we’ll do our best tomorrow.”
Asked whether he had an idea of what he wanted changed before the 2026 F1 Dutch GP Qualifying tomorrow, Hamilton said:
“Yes, I think so.”
Together with Ferrari, the 7-time Champion will review the data to determine what caused the different feeling in the car.
“I mean, we’ll look at the data, and then we’ll make a determination. But we made…
“We just got to go through the data and figure it out. Charles was in a slightly different place than me, so a bit closer to where I was. So that’s it.”
