Ferrari pinpoint Lewis Hamilton mistake that cost Spanish GP pole

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur believes Lewis Hamilton's mistake in Sector 1 at the end of Spanish Grand Prix qualifying was key to the Briton losing pole. 

Hamilton found himself holding provisional pole after the first runs in Q3 at the Madring, and was ahead of Kimi Antonelli, George Russell, Max Verstappen, and Lando Norris.

However, on the second run, Hamilton could only improve by less than a tenth of a second, thus opening the door for those behind to deny him a first pole since the 2023 Hungarian GP - 73 races ago. 

Antonelli first bumped Hamilton from pole, with Norris then stunning the Italian to pip him by just 0.011s to earn a 19th career pole of his own. 

Hamilton was then shuffled back to fourth as Verstappen crossed the line and went third, with the Briton now failing to qualify inside the top three since his home race at Silverstone, six races ago. 

Reflecting Vasseur pinpointed Hamilton's poor first sector on the second lap as the moment when qualifying got away from the 104-time pole sitter.

"When you are P1 after the first run in Q3, for sure you are targeting pole," said Vasseur. 

"I think Lewis made a small mistake at the start of his last flying lap and left around a tenth and a half in the first sector. 

"Charles did a good lap and improved massively through Turns 5 and 6, but with such small gaps between the cars, it was not enough to do better than fifth.

"Now let’s focus on [the race]. The data from long runs on Friday might not be fully representative, as no one really focused on this and the track is still evolving very quickly. 

"From the F2 and F3 races, it’s clear that overtaking is extremely difficult on this track, but we also know the race could be chaotic, so we need to be ready to take every opportunity, whether that comes from a VSC, a Safety Car or even a red flag."

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Hamilton reflects on own qualifying

As for Hamilton, he felt that the team should be targeting a podium finish, but that the unknown of tyre degradation and its impact on Ferrari would be a major complicating factor. 

"A realistic target?" Hamilton pondered to media, including RacingNews365, when asked what his target for the race was.

"We are right next to the podium [on the grid], so I mean, hopefully, if we can execute right and have some pace in the race, whilst we struggle to overtake, maybe there'll be a chance for us to get a podium if we work hard."

"We sometimes go to hot places, and the tyre degradation is okay, and then sometimes it is not okay. When you got to, like, Austria, for example, it was hot, and our deg was terrible, and then you go to another place [and it is okay]. 

"So I really have no idea what to expect; I am just going to have fun, that's all I can say. 

"I'm going to have real fun, not put too much pressure on it, and the fact is, the guys were competing with, one of them is ahead of us, and they're just quicker, so we'll try and do our best to hold on."