2026 Barcelona GP winner Lewis Hamilton has secured a strong P3 start in qualifying for the F1 Austrian GP. The Ferrari man’s Saturday had already been off to a good start, as he had managed to secure a top three result in the earlier FP3. Hamilton then went on have a successful Q1, setting the third fastest time.
A stressful moment during Q3
In fact, the Brit’s first timed lap attempt in the final grid setting segment was not successful, as he made a mistake and ran very deep at Turn 3. As he only had one shot, he was consequently extra careful in preparing his second run, which ultimately led him to P3, less than a tenth behind his teammate Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton admitted that second and third was definitely the highest Qualifying result Ferrari could have aspired to in his opinion ahead of the F1 Austrian GP, while also praising the entire team at Maranello for all the hard work gone into preparing and perfecting the SF-26 and its ADUO updates.
“I don’t know whether we could do the same time as those guys. They’ve been quick all weekend, so congrats to George. But otherwise, it’s amazing to be up here with Charles. I think it’s such a great showing for Ferrari. And just really, it is a reflection of the hard work that everyone’s been putting in back at the factory.
“You know, we got the new upgrade this weekend on the engine, which is a slight step forwards. And then we also brought a couple of little pieces on the car. So it’s just every weekend, it’s really great to see them pushing so much and just continuing to bring these pieces. You could tell they’re hungry and they’re pushing, which I’m really proud of.”
Grateful for the performance of his SF-26 during his only attempt
Overall, in spite of ultimately not securing a front row start, the seven times World Champion was still pleased with his performance, as well as with the effort from the entirety of his garage which have aided him in improving his feeling with the challenger and solving his lack of grip.
“That’s why we’re up here and as close as we are. Yesterday, we were like six tenths off in a straight line, and somehow today we’re closer. So yeah, fortunately, the weekend had been pretty good. I mean, this morning in P3, I felt good with the laps and then got to qualifying and struggled a little bit more with the balance, particularly on the brakes.
“Then Q3, I made a mistake in turn one, then turn three and lost that lap. That really puts you on the back foot naturally because you’ve got to squeeze out a lap. So given that I missed that first lap, I’m pretty happy with that.”
What will be in the cards tomorrow for Hamilton at the F1 Austrian GP?
Winner last time out on track in Spain, Hamilton would definitely enjoy scoring two victories in row, as the last time this feat has happened in his career dates back to 2021. However, the talented veteran recognised the even more impressive speed and confidence Mercedes has been having in Austria, and warned that it will not be an easy feat.
“I think this weekend we’ve not been confident that we could fight for a win. These guys have been six tenths quicker than us most of the weekend. We closed the gap overnight, three tenths, but we still are three tenths down today or two and a bit tenths down today.”
Unlike in Barcelona, Hamilton will be able to rely on Leclerc from assistance, in order to tailor a concerted effort for the race win against the Silver Arrows.
“So it’s going to be very tough to challenge them tomorrow, but it’s a long run down to turn three. Hopefully together we can… Now it’s great having Charles up here as well because we can hopefully work together in a strategy and try to apply pressure to them.”
A long way to go before matching Mercedes
Asked on how would he assess the impact of the new power unit upgrades introduced in the current weekend by Ferrari, and if a win was deemed necessary following their implementation, Hamilton denied, whil also underlining the track specialties which might prevent him and his teammate from unlocking the entire possible potential.
“I don’t think we have a measure of success. I mean, we just want to continue to be moving forwards and trying to get closer. We knew coming into this weekend would be tough with the long straights. We got here and the deficit looked bigger than other circuits that we’ve been at. Maybe it’s the altitude, I’m not sure.
“I can’t really predict what’s going to happen in the future. Just, I know when we get to the long straight circuits, it’s going to be our Achilles heel for a while. But as I said, I’m really proud of the team for continuing to work. We got this upgrade. That’s the first step, but we need to make a bigger step naturally to really close the gap with them.”
