Lewis Hamilton links previous Ferrari upgrade to unusual Belgian GP spin

Lewis Hamilton has suggested a recent Ferrari upgrade may have contributed to his usual spin in sprint qualifying at the F1 Belgian Grand Prix.

Hamilton was left down in 18th on the grid after he was knocked out in SQ1 at Spa-Francorchamps.

The seven-time world champion made a mistake in his first attempt in qualifying.

He then spun at the final chicane, leaving him eliminated in the first part of sprint qualifying.

After the session, Hamilton admitted that it was the first time he’s ever done that in his F1 career.

While his Ferrari F1 car had no obvious issue, Hamilton theorised after the sprint race that an upgrade introduced in Canada may have caused it.

Hamilton cited Charles Leclerc’s spin during the Canadian GP weekend, where the upgrade was first introduced.

Hamilton hasn’t run the upgrade until this weekend.

“The positive is that I didn’t spin and I did move forwards,” Hamilton said.

“It was a really tough race. We were all in the DRS train which was unfortunate. Definitely, I learned a lot from the upgrades that we had. I was just reflecting… part of the upgrade Charles has had since Montreal and you saw the crash that he had there is similar to something I had yesterday.

“It’s about fine-tuning it. Yesterday was the first time running it for me. Now, it’s about fine-tuning it. We can make some between now and quali.”

Hamilton remains confident of a better qualifying display.

Before his first mistake in Q1, Hamilton was on course to go fastest and four-tenths ahead of Leclerc.

Hamilton added: “My actual pace in quali was pretty good. So not so much I would say in the race but positions are obviously important here so I hope for a better result.” 

Leclerc: We don't have the pace to fight Red Bull or McLaren

Leclerc has enjoyed a smoother weekend so far in Belgium.

The 27-year-old qualified fourth and finished fourth.

Leclerc ran third in the early stages but could not keep Lando Norris behind.

“For sure some learning to take away from a race like this,” Leclerc explained.

“However, it doesn’t feel like we’re very far off the maximum potential of the car. I don’t feel like we’re out of place with the setup or anything like that.

“I don’t think there’s anything in the car that makes us hope that we can fight with Red Bull or McLaren unfortunately.”