Lewis Hamilton sets lowly qualifying target that could worry Ferrari in Saudi Arabia

Lewis Hamilton was downbeat after Friday practice for the F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, admitting he’s “just seeing if I can get in the top 10 at the moment”.

Hamilton struggled for pace in Friday practice at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Hamilton could only set the 13th-fastest time in the more representative second session.

The seven-time world champion was over six-tenths slower than Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, who was fourth in the order.

Looking ahead to qualifying, Hamilton set an underwhelming target to get into the top 10.

“I don’t know mate. For me, I am just seeing if I can get in the top 10 at the moment,” Hamilton said.

Ferrari struggled more on the soft tyre in Friday practice.

After setting the fastest time of anyone on the mediums, Leclerc struggled to improve initially on the softer rubber.

It was a similar story for Hamilton, who found little time on the red-marked tyre.

“Not the greatest. I think getting the tyres working today was the issue for us,” Hamilton explained.

“It was nothing to do with the team but we were struggling to get the tyres working.”

Can Lewis Hamilton fix his qualifying woes?

Qualifying has continued to be Hamilton’s Achilles' heel since the start of last year.

Hamilton was annihilated by George Russell in the qualifying head-to-head in 2024, beating Russell just five times across 24 races.

It was the first time in his F1 career since 2014, against Nico Rosberg, where Hamilton was beaten by a teammate in qualifying across a whole season. 

Against Leclerc in 2025, he’s only beaten him once, out-qualifying him in Shanghai.

Based on Friday practice, Hamilton will have little chance of beating Leclerc.

When asked about the changes he can make to his Ferrari overnight, Hamilton quipped that he usually “goes backwards” on a Saturday, but given how low he was in the order in FP2, it would be difficult to fall even further back.

“Normally, Saturday goes backwards,” Hamilton added. “There’s not a lot of backwards for me to go from where I am. Hopefully overnight we will make some improvements to the car.

“There were a few bits through the session that felt good and just when we get to the soft tyres it’s not there. We will make some changes overnight and hopefully come back stronger.”