Lewis Hamilton’s worrying radio remark as Ferrari misery deepens

Lewis Hamilton made a telling remark after a truly dreadful sprint race for Ferrari at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton could only finish 17th in Saturday’s 19-lap race after starting from the pit lane following a nightmare qualifying in Doha.

Ferrari broke parc ferme conditions to change the rear-wing assembly and suspension on Hamilton’s SF-25 but the tweaks appeared to make little difference to their competitiveness.

Hamilton was unable to complete any overtakes and only gained one place when Aston Martin decided to pit Lance Stroll in the closing stages.

Reflecting on the sprint race over team radio after the chequered flag, Hamilton worryingly said: “I don’t know how we made the car worse.”

Things weren’t much better for Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, who finished 13th.

Leclerc started ninth but dropped places with a terrible first lap, and was seen having several off-track adventures as he battled with his Ferrari.

It marks the first time since Monza in 2021 that Ferrari have failed to score any points in a sprint race.

The non-score further damages Ferrari’s constructors’ championship hopes, with the Italian team now 64 points behind second-placed Mercedes, and 21 adrift of third-placed Red Bull. 

Hamilton explains Ferrari car struggles

Asked to list what he would like to make his Ferrari better, Hamilton laughed before telling Sky Sports F1: “I’d be here all day. 

“We started from the pit lane because we wanted to explore and make some changes. Some things they found on the simulator last year. So we made those changes and the car was really in the wrong direction and really, really difficult, for whatever reason, clearly for both of us.

“We just don’t have any stability. The rear-end is not planted, so it’s sliding and snapping a lot. Then we have bouncing, so when you are going into corners like Turn 10, the thing starts bouncing.

“We’re having a lot of mid-corner understeer, so when you apply the steering it snaps and you try and catch it. It’s different between a lot of medium and high and it’s a fight like you couldn’t believe.”