“Felt like we had good pace”: Hamilton’s missed opportunity after Q1 exit in Las Vegas
- Maham Mir
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Written by Maham Mir
Despite qualifying last on pure pace for the first time in his career, Lewis Hamilton revealed that it “felt like we had good pace” in his Ferrari. As a result of his P20 qualifying position, Hamilton has become the first Ferrari driver to qualify at the back of the grid on pure pace since Giancarlo Fisichella at the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Hamilton identified that he was “struggling to generate heat” in his wet weather tyres, the tyres that almost all the grid started out on in Q1, as the damp conditions of FP3 turned to rain for the start of qualifying.
Highlighting the development of the car over the course of the weekend so far, Hamilton noted the “car was feeling awesome in FP3” however the performance did not carry over. Becoming somewhat of a running trend for the British driver, the performance found in free practice does not always carry over into the all-important qualifying sessions.
Hamilton, who would have been hoping to use the Las Vegas Grand Prix as an opportunity to turn things around after a disappointing race in São Paulo last time out, showcased consistent pace during the three free practice sessions. Although behind his teammate on all three occasions, the seven time world champion seemed to be finally getting into the swing of things with his Ferrari.
With Hamilton’s less than ideal session and Charles Leclerc only managing to slot himself into P9, this Las Vegas qualifying has become the third grid of 2025 not to feature at least one Ferrari in the top eight.
Looking ahead to Saturday’s Grand Prix, Hamilton will be hoping to demonstrate his expert race-craft by making his way through the field and hopefully score some much needed points. As Ferrari continue to battle with Mercedes and Red Bull for P2 in the World Constructor’s Championship, Hamilton and Leclerc will need to do all they can to spur their team forwards.
