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Hamilton Narrowly Misses Pole Position in Barcelona Qualifying
Lewis Hamilton missed the pole position at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix qualifying by just 0.064 seconds. A small mistake in the final lap and a drop in tire performance turned the battle in favor of George Russell.
Lewis Hamilton missed the pole position at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix qualifying by only 0.064 seconds. In the battle, George Russell said he believed Hamilton had the speed to take pole.
Hamilton struggled throughout the practice sessions and approached the weekend cautiously. However, he expressed satisfaction with the feel and performance Ferrari showed at the start of qualifying, making a strong push up to Q3.
In the final lap, Hamilton’s first sector time was slightly slower than his previous best. Yet, setting personal bests in the next two sectors kept the pole fight open until the very end.
The decisive moment came at the first corner and the following section. After a red flag interrupted the previous lap, Hamilton went out on the same set of tires and said he couldn’t perfectly adjust his speed, overloading turn 1 and running wide.
This mistake weakened his exit from the first two corners and caused a loss of speed entering the long third corner. Hamilton estimated this might have cost him between a tenth and a tenth and a half of a second but refrained from making a definitive statement without reviewing the data.
Still, Hamilton was very strong in some parts of the lap. He set the fastest time among all drivers in the second sector and reached the braking point at the end of the back straight about seven hundredths of a second ahead of Russell.
The main difference emerged in the final sector. Hamilton reached a lower apex speed in the left hairpin at turn 10, ran wide, and experienced rear sliding; despite this, he tried to close the gap until the last corner.
In the final section, Russell was quicker in power deployment, turning the battle in his favor. Hamilton saw that despite coming very close to pole with Ferrari, small mistakes in completing the lap changed the outcome.
This result also altered Ferrari’s expectations for the weekend. Hamilton said after Friday’s practice sessions that he needed a big leap forward, and the setup changes made by the engineers significantly improved rear grip and his confidence.
The driver explained that he was running with almost the same setup as Leclerc and that Ferrari’s improvement in rear-end grip offered him a much more suitable driving experience. Leading the timesheet in Q1 was a surprise for him after the difficulties he faced throughout the weekend.
Hamilton does not completely rule out the chance to take the lead from the start in the race. He expressed confidence in Ferrari’s launch performance and noted that Mercedes looked strong in long runs, suggesting that a two-stop race could further open up the battle at the front.
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