Achieving one of the best results in his debut season at Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton put out a P4 worthy lap during the F1 Austrian GP qualifying session. While the 7-time world champion expected a smoother ride after joining the historic team, Hamilton is still struggling to adapt to the SF-25. His process of relearning the tracks in his new machinery proved fruitful at the Red Bull Ring.
Keeping close to his teammate, Charles Leclerc, the new Ferrari driver is currently sixth in the championship. Even if Hamilton had to suffer and face a different learning curve than he was used to, the Brit kept making steady progress. This second-row start will allow Lewis Hamilton to get a better chance at a possible Sunday podium.
The past few months with the Scuderia
As the 2025 season progressed, so has the 7-time world champion. The trial and errors Hamilton went through so far in order to catch up to Leclerc could be noticed at the F1 Austrian GP. While still not at the same level as the Monegasque, the Brit shared his excitement about the developments. Furthermore, he claimed the Ferrari team had the best qualifying process of the season:
“Yeah, definitely made some progress over the last few months. I was much happier with the car in Q3 and the direction we went. I think it’s been really positive. And I think etching closer in terms of performance to Charles, who’s really, really used to the car. He hardly ever changes it. So, I think that’s really positive.”
Moreover, Lewis Hamilton believes his lap time improved significantly. These type of positive news had the Brit praising his team:
“Also, I had more time in the lap. I was nearly 3 tenths up going into turn 6, and I heard a massive snap going in. And then I came across the line 0.06s up, so that would have put me second. So there’s positives in it for sure, and I think operationally the team did a really great job today. It’s the best qualifying process, operationally, that we’ve done.”
What went right in this qualifying
When discussing the aspects that helped him extract everything he could from the SF-25, Hamilton made a point to thank the Scuderia Ferrari factory workers for their contribution. The Brit gave a good overview of the feel of the floor changes made for the F1 Austrian GP:
“Yeah, the guys have definitely been able to extract more from the floor this weekend. It was a really small step. Firstly, there’s degradation in floors, so a new floor is always a little bit better. And then on top of that, the step of improvement in performance. And so I’m really thankful to the team back at the factory for the work they’ve put into it today.”
Yet, missing out on the top three while your teammate qualified second can be bittersweet. But Lewis Hamilton was not going to dwell on that. The Ferrari driver talked about his many years in the F1 world, stating his gratitude for the P4. Nevertheless, Hamilton does have hope that his car could perform better during the race.
“No, I mean, jeez, I’ve been in this business for such a long time. You win some, you lose some. I’m grateful that we’re on the second row at least. And usually our race is better, our car is better in the race generally than it is usually in qualifying. So we’ve improved in qualifying this weekend. Let’s hope that we can carry that over to the next race.”
Missing out on a podium possibility
A well-achieved champion like Lewis Hamilton will still have a hard time missing those podium wins and champagne celebrations. The Brit thinks the same, hoping his return to the top 3 will not take too long:
“It feels like that win, that 900-odd days thing, it feels like that sort of thing. But hopefully it won’t take 900 days. The last few races I’ve said, yeah, I can’t wait to get that podium. So I’m not going to say it. I’m just going to put myself towards action.”
Nonetheless, there was a visible difference in performance during this qualifying. Hamilton agreed, highlighting how the overall vibe in the Ferrari paddock during the F1 Austrian GP was incredible and “spot on“:
“Just operationally, I think. The guys in the garage are always doing an amazing job. But I just think how calm the people, the guys were, the head engineers were on the pit wall. The timing was spot on. And when they got us into the pit lane, the gaps they were giving us, staying out, the traffic management, not getting penalties for the traffic here. The turnarounds were just spot on.”
Sunday predictions
A track like the Red Bull Ring is known to give the drivers some trouble. With its three DRS zones, the overtaking opportunities are endless. But overtaking can also entail incidents between two or more drivers attempting to advance. However, Hamilton made a joking comment about the absence of one of his past rivals, Max Verstappen, who has a more aggressive approach when his goal is to get to the top:
“I mean, Max [Verstappen] is not there. I won’t be bumping into anybody else, for sure.”
Another driver who delivered an incredible flying lap was Lando Norris. The McLaren driver received some upgrades this week. With this help, he managed to put a half-second gap between himself and the rest of the grid. Lewis Hamilton was impressed with the speed of that MCL39, stating that he does not believe his SF-25 can compare:
“That’s insane. The speed of the McLaren is impressive. They’re doing almost 10km faster through 6 and 7, and there’s no way I can go 10km faster through those two corners. So they’ve obviously got incredible performance within that car. They have all year. They did a great job today.”
Turning points in the Scuderia Ferrari garage
Following one of his previous statements from the Canadian GP about doing something different, Hamilton was asked if he noticed any changes. To that, the Brit answered truthfully, saying that the progress is there, but is made slowly. He also explained the need for consistency between race weekends.
“Bit by bit. It’s definitely slow to change, but we are making progress. But there are lots of things that need to continue to improve for us to be able to do what we do like this weekend. Consistently, weekend in, weekend out. That’s what we’re working on.”
This F1 Austrian GP is seemingly the turning point of Hamilton’s 2025 season. Yet, the 7-time world champion is hesitant to call it that. Lewis Hamilton hopes that the Scuderia can continue this good streak in Silverstone, the driver’s home race. In terms of his personal progress, the Brit will focus on getting further accustomed to the car:
“I don’t know. I hope we can take this performance through to Silverstone and be in the mix of the fight. That would be freaking awesome. And I think for me, I’m just continuing to keep my head down, continuing to work away. The fact is, every time I go to a track, it’s a new characteristic of the car at that track. When I started on Friday, I was like ‘Shoot, this is so different to what I raced here with last year’.
“You’d be just so surprised that the different way you have to set things and the different way you have to turn the car through corners. But I think I’ve got on top of it. It’s the best mobility. Ultimately, the last lap wasn’t good enough, but I’ll keep working on it.”
Ending his interview on a hopeful note, Hamilton feels like he is getting closer to his teammate, who’s been a part of the Ferrari team for much longer. Calling this progress “incremental steps”, the Brit keeps his head up and tries to be the fastest.
“I don’t know if it’s the biggest step. I would say, setup-wise, I’m finally getting much closer to where Charles [Leclerc] has the car, for example, which I’m not going to have to run out here. As I said today, ultimately, I was as fast. This is as close as I’ve been in performance to Charles [Leclerc], which is good stuff because he’s very quick at qualifying and, again, he’s just so used to this car. Incremental steps. I do anticipate to continue on that road and eventually switch it.”
