Lewis Hamilton admits Ferrari confusion in blunt ‘not quick’ Barcelona verdict

Lewis Hamilton admits he doesn’t have a clear idea of what to do to improve his Ferrari’s performance after finishing Friday’s second practice more than a second off the pace.

Hamilton was one of seven race drivers to complete only a single practice session on Friday at the Barcelona Grand Prix as teams opted to use FP1 to tick off one of their four young driver outings for the season.

Lewis Hamilton unsure how to improve Ferrari pace

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Dino Beganovic drove Hamilton’s car in FP1, and finished eighth fastest, 1.415s down on Mercedes’ George Russell. He was nine tenths slower than Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton was back in the car for FP2, and set the ninth fastest time. He was 1.205s slower than pace-setter Lando Norris, and eight-tenths down on Leclerc’s best time.

The Briton struggled with a lack of grip and wasn’t happy with the overall handling of his SF-26.

He reported, “Something’s wrong with the rear of the car. The car was dragging down the straight.”

Ferrari was running an updated SF-26 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with the team bringing eight new parts to the track, including a new front wing and nose, floor and diffuser, and sidepods.

Asked about Ferrari’s upgrade package, Hamilton replied: “I had zero feel of it, so I have no idea where we… We’re obviously not quick.

“Charles had two sessions and was, I think, four-tenths off the McLarens and Mercedes.

“Clearly we are quite a chunk off, still.

“It was an unusual one in a sense that the majority of the drivers, maybe not Lando, that missed the first session were quite car far off their team-mates in the second session.

“And the grip was the lowest, with this generation of car, that I’ve ever had here. And because it’s so hot the tyres only last one lap. Tricky to get into second practice and only have two laps.

“I don’t really know what I’m going to do with the car. Hopefully tomorrow we have a better day.”

More from the Barcelona Grand Prix on PlanetF1.com

George Russell hits back in Barcelona as title rival Antonelli watches on

Lando Norris edges George Russell as top three separated by 0.057s in FP2

As for Leclerc, he too would not be drawn on whether Ferrari’s upgrades were a step in the right direction, saying it was too early to judge.

“It was an interesting day,” said the 28-year-old. “We have a few new items on the car and we’ve made a step forward.

“Regarding competitiveness, it’s too early to say and I think our competitors are quite a bit ahead of us.

“We have to focus on maximising what we have now and we will see what we can do tomorrow.”

Hamilton heads into Sunday’s race second in the Drivers’ Championship, 66 points down on Kimi Antonelli, while Leclerc is fourth. He’s a further 15 points off the pace.

Ferrari holds second place in the Constructors’ standings on 165 points, with Mercedes leading on 244.

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