Lewis Hamilton explains the ‘eight tenths’ Ferrari lacks in Dutch GP practice
Lewis Hamilton had two spins during Friday practice for the Dutch Grand Prix.
It was a spin-filled Friday for Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, as the seven-time World Champion faced two different twirls as he fought for pace and grip behind the wheel of his SF-25.
Though Hamilton felt the team had found some pace during lunch, he has admitted that it’ll be tough to find the eight-tenths of a second that the team seems to be lacking in time for qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton at a loss as Ferrari pace deficit becomes clear
Formula 1 has returned from its mandatory summer shutdown period for 10 final races to round out the championship, and unfortunately for Lewis Hamilton, his Ferrari SF-25 is still proving to be something of a handful during practice.
In FP1, Hamilton lost control of his car, explaining to F1TV afterward that “I think I was just pushing too much. I think ultimately ride quality is also not where we want it; the car’s quite unpredictable.”
Then, if FP2, the seven-time World Champion went for a twirl again. He explained that “The second one, I touched the grass and had a snap, and that was that.
“I was pushing which is positive, I guess.”
Still, he admitted that there’s “hopefully no more” in the way of spins this weekend.
More from PlanetF1.com:
👉 Five F1 2025 drivers with a point to prove after summer break
👉 Bold predictions as F1 2025 resumes: Hamilton engineer swap, Russell to Red Bull, Colapinto out
While McLaren topped the timing sheets and Aston Martin tailed just behind, Ferrari lagged.
In FP1, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were 14th and 15th, respectively. FP2 was more promising, with Hamilton setting the sixth fastest time, and Leclerc the eighth.
There’s still plenty of work to be done before qualifying on Saturday afternoon, but Hamilton was in somewhat higher spirits than expected speaking to media after the conclusion of the day’s running.
“It’s not been the worst of days,” he admitted. “I think we were making progress.
“We were obviously quite far off in FP1, a lot further than normal. First lap felt pretty decent, getting back, but a bit of a challenge from then.
“We made some progress over lunch, but still quite a chunk off, so still some work to do overnight.”
Still, it’s likely that no amount of hard work will be enough to overcome what Hamilton describes as an “eight-tenths” deficit over the competition.
“I think before my spin I was around a tenth up, and I got another tenth and a half in the last corner, so I’ve got to make some improvements there,” he explained when asked what his expectations are come Saturday.
“Then we’ve got some work to do with the set-up. I think we are, pace-wise, for some reason, where we are. I don’t really know how we’re going to find eight tenths.”
Though it’s not exactly a comforting admission, Hamilton seems to be handling the bad news better than he had before the break.
After being knocked out of Q2 in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, Hamilton described himself as “useless” and suggested that Ferrari find a different driver to fill his seat, as teammate Charles Leclerc had managed to ultimately find his way to pole position.
The three-week break seems to have somewhat helped Hamilton break out of that funk, though of course the real test of every driver’s composure often comes during qualifying itself.
Read next: Dutch GP: Norris sees off Alonso threat as Stroll crashes hard in FP2
