Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was left satisfied following the Qualifying session for the 2026 F1 Canadian GP. The seven times World Champion had had a positive feeling in Montreal in the earlier Sprint Qualifying already, outperforming his teammate Charles Leclerc in all six segments.
After advancing to Q2 on used rubber, Hamilton bolted new soft tyres on for the next two rounds. He secured his starting P5 with his first timed attempt in 1:12.868, which had set him in P2 at the time, immediately behind his former teammate George Russell.
However, his second attempt was not as successful after a big moment at turn 7, having him fall behind in P5 as Antonelli and the McLaren driver duo slotted in ahead.
Consequently, Hamilton will line up in P5 for the F1 Canadian GP, right next to Leclerc, who signed a lap one tenth slower.
A positive F1 Qualifying for Hamilton at the Canadian GP
Overall, the biggest take from Saturday in Montreal was his positive attitude and the improved car feeling, as he explained in a post-qualifying interview in the print media pen.
“It felt great. We made some good changes in qualifying. I was hopeful for a better result, but I didn’t get my last lap. The car was feeling like we were improving. I think, honestly, if I got that last lap, I probably could have been third.”
Among the hardships encountered during the tight qualifying session, tyre management and remaining within their best operating window was the worst for the former Mercedes driver.
“Yeah, it was definitely challenging to get the tyres to stay in the window, with the temp of the track.”
Ahead of the Canadian round, Hamilton had opted for not testing the track on the Ferrari simulator, preferring to focus on a more analogical data analysis, like he had done before Shanghai.
Admittedly, the outcome of his study was an improved car feeling and set-up finding.
”It’s brakes, corner entry stability, and just with the setup that I’ve migrated to, I’m much, much happier with being able to attack the corners.”
Mixed conditions including in Montreal
In order to try and improve his starting position, the Brit is hoping for a wet race, which, according to the latest weather reports, might actually be on the cards. Being among the limited number of teams who have already had a chance to test to brand new Pirelli wet tyres could definitely advantage Hamilton in the F1 Canadian GP.
“Well, I’m hoping it is, and I hope that levels us out to the guys ahead, and maybe gives us a bit of a chance to fight with them.”
His previous experience of the new tyres from the Italian manufacturer, however, was not rather pleasant, as he further explained the difficulties he had encountered while trying to stay within the window of best performance.
”Ultimately the wet tyres aren’t spectacular, in terms of the way that they’ve moved to having no blankets, to having low blanket temperatures, and then ultimately they’ve had to build a tyre that works with those low blankets, and the tyres don’t work.
“So, we’re constantly battling the tyres that don’t work. From my test, I’ve pushed them to raise the blankets. They advised to raise the blankets. They did it. And from the test, I pushed them to add the blankets onto the extreme tyres, which they have. But that’s still not enough. They are still a lot worse.”
