Lewis Hamilton expressed cautious optimism after securing fifth place in qualifying for the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix on Saturday, highlighting some progress with his Ferrari but acknowledging ongoing difficulties with the car’s performance. Although he managed to outqualify his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc for the second race in a row, Hamilton remains almost seven-tenths of a second behind pole sitter George Russell from Mercedes.
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion reflected on the challenges he faced just to reach Q3, noting that a clean qualifying session was crucial to his strong finish. Hamilton described the step forward as meaningful, but far from enough to feel fully comfortable in the car.
Incremental improvements amid persistent technical issues
Hamilton detailed how the Ferrari team has been grappling with recurring technical hurdles, such as problems with the car’s floor and rear wing that have lowered downforce levels in prior sessions. He explained to reporters,
“We’ve progressed coming into it, so that was a positive. More often than not… [in previous qualifying sessions] there’s been something wrong with the car.”
He added that these problems have repeatedly hampered their competitiveness, preventing the team from matching the pace of the leading cars.
Race pace and podium remain attainable goals despite gap to leaders
Despite the performance gap, Hamilton was encouraged by the race potential of his Ferrari, especially on a circuit where “lots can happen.” He stated,
“The fundamental baseline of our car is not as good as the guys up ahead today, it’s quite far off. But I’m still hopeful our race pace can be good. The podium is still a goal.”
With seven Canadian GP wins to his name, Hamilton believes his experience at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve could aid his chances in the race, emphasizing that while the package is currently not at the level of Mercedes or the top competitors, it still presents opportunities on race day.
Adjustments in driving style help adapt to car’s characteristics
Hamilton credited a shift in his driving technique for some of the progress made this weekend. He described the unique handling differences of the Ferrari compared to his previous cars by saying,
“This car drives so much different to what I had before. You go into low-speed corners and you’re waiting and waiting. It doesn’t want to turn. It’s definitely not suited for this circuit.”
He acknowledged that improvements have been slow because Ferrari has not brought major upgrades to the car recently.
“It’s just incremental steps. We’ve not had any upgrades or anything like that. It’s been the same car for quite some time now with the same package each weekend,”
Hamilton explained.
Ongoing collaboration with engineers to find competitive edge
Hamilton highlighted his active involvement with Ferrari engineers as they seek to refine the car’s performance, saying,
“I’m constantly battling the engineers, asking questions of them. We work on trying [different] things. Bit by bit, we are making progress.”
Despite these efforts, he remains realistic about the necessity for significant upgrades to close the gap to the front-runners. He stressed,
“But ultimately, we need an upgrade to be able to fight the guys up front.”
Upcoming race expectations at the Canadian Grand Prix
As the race approaches, anticipation surrounds whether Hamilton can capitalize on the small step forward in qualifying and leverage Ferrari’s improvements during the longer race distance. The Canadian Grand Prix is known for unpredictability, which could play to Hamilton’s advantage given his experience on the circuit and Ferrari’s potential race pace.
The ongoing development efforts and Hamilton’s adaptability will be crucial in determining whether the Ferrari driver can achieve his ambition of reaching the podium in Canada despite the current limitations of the car.
