Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari woes seem to be reaching a new high with each passing weekend, and the Qatar GP has fared no better for him so far. Heading into the penultimate race weekend of the season, Hamilton and Ferrari hoped to find some of the form from the opening sprint weekend of the season, but it wasn’t meant to be.
The 7X world champion has looked like just a shell of his former self ever since he joined Ferrari, given he just hasn’t been able to master the SF-25. Heading into the 23rd Grand Prix of 2025, there was a hope that he would fare better, but the British driver seems to have taken a turn for the worse.
Lewis Hamilton Knocked Out of Q1 Again
Last weekend’s Las Vegas GP weekend served as a historic moment in Hamilton’s career, but it wasn’t a record the British driver would want to remember. He qualified for the main race in P20, making it the first time in his career that he qualified for a race in last place on pure pace.
Ultimately, he was able to climb up to P8, ending the weekend on a relatively positive note. Following the weekend, the No. 44 driver would have hoped for clearer skies in the remaining two races of the season, but Qatar has so far been a disaster for him.
During Saturday’s Qualifying session, Hamilton went out for his first run on a used set of tires, and he delivered a competitive time. The Ferrari ‘rookie’ was comfortably sat in P6 before the track started developing quickly, and Ferrari thought it best to send both their drivers out again.
Until then, Leclerc was the Ferrari driver at risk, but the Monegasque driver delivered when it mattered most and advanced to Q2. Meanwhile, Hamilton, who was running a much lower ride height setup from before, struggled for pace once again.
Having been pushed down, the Briton could only put up a lap to place him in P13, which was never going to be enough. Ultimately, he was pushed down to the elimination zone, and there was no way back for him.
Hamilton was 0.266 seconds slower than the P15 driver, leaving him faster than only two other drivers (Lance Stroll and Franco Colapinto) in Q1.
As such, much like the sprint session, Hamilton will be lining up in P18 for the Qatar GP on Sunday. The only difference will be that he started the sprint race from the pit lane, and this time, he will be a part of the main grid.
What’s most concerning here is how the sprint session ultimately went for Hamilton. The SF-25 had no pace to take another car on and complete the overtake. The only reason Hamilton created a place during the session was that Stroll had pitted for a soft tire, as Aston Martin had decided to run a simulation of the Qualifying session.
That said, it looks implausible for Hamilton to finish in points on Sunday, given his lack of confidence in the car and the car’s inability to provide him with enough pace for ‘Hammer time.’