Lewis Hamilton claims Ferrari car was ‘missing a couple of tenths’ in F1 Belgian GP qualifying after crash

Lewis Hamilton has revealed that his Ferrari Formula 1 car felt different and was “missing a couple of tenths” following a crash at the Belgian Grand Prix. 

Seven-time world champion Hamilton gave his Ferrari team a mammoth repair job to fix his wrecked car in time for qualifying after suffering a crash at the end of final practice at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday. 

Hamilton ran wide on the exit of the Fagnes Chicane and clipped the right rear of his Ferrari against the barrier in a mirror image of Pierre Gasly’s own shunt at the same corner during Friday practice. 

Ferrari changed the suspension, rear wing and floor, as well as making a precautionary gearbox change on Hamilton’s SF-26 as they completed a remarkable rebuild ahead of qualifying. 

Hamilton went on to take sixth in qualifying after being pipped by Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc by just 0.002 seconds. Afterwards, Hamilton claimed his car felt different compared to FP3. 

“It did [feel different]. The boys did a mega job to fix my damage after P3,” Hamilton, who had been the quicker Ferrari driver heading into qualifying, told Sky Sports F1. 

"The car was feeling amazing P3 and I really felt confident, not that we’d be fighting for pole because I think Mercedes are too fast, but I definitely think with the car that we had in P3 we probably could have been third or something like that. 

"I was missing a couple of tenths once I got to qualy. The car wasn’t identical to what we ended up having in qualifying, but I did the best I could with what I had.”

Pressed on what he was missing in the car, Hamilton responded: “Something wasn't the same on the rear suspension, so I think in the end the balance wasn't the same basically. 

“The car was feeling really great. They push right to the last minute to get the thing fixed, so I'm just grateful they did, and I hope the car's still okay in the race tomorrow.”

Ferrari has been trailing behind Mercedes all weekend so far in Belgium but Hamilton, who will start fifth once Lando Norris’s grid penalty is applied, remains hopeful of battling for a place on the podium. 

"I’m not quite sure [what the deficit is to Mercedes]. Definitely in the last sector we seem to lost the most, and that is pure grunt. And a little bit in sector one, but they’re just really fast,” the 41-year-old Briton said. 

“It’s to be expected at this track. We expected them to be very, very fast, and they are everywhere. Just in qualifying, they seem to have that bit extra to everyone else.

"I definitely think we can go forwards tomorrow. I’ll be giving absolutely everything to try to catch them up."