Lewis Hamilton has claimed that his Ferrari "felt better" in Qatar Grand Prix qualifying despite yet another Q1 exit.
After falling in SQ1 in the Sprint qualifying session, Hamilton once again took 18th in the times at Lusail after radical Ferrari changes to add more downforce to the SF-25.
However, it was not enough to prevent Hamilton from suffering a third successive exit in the first qualifying segment (Las Vegas, Qatar Sprint and GP qualifying) for the first time since the 2009 Monaco-Turkish-British races.
Describing his car as feeling on the "ragged edge", Hamilton detailed how the machine under him actually felt better than throughout the weekend thus far.
"We made changes, and the car felt better," Hamilton told media, including RacingNews365.
"Early in the session, it was looking pretty decent, but I just didn't get the last lap.
"You saw in the Sprint, there is no overtaking, so I'll try something different with the strategy.
"[We are lacking] stability, we're obviously lacking downforce compared to the others because we haven't developed, so the car is on the ragged edge and [we need] a bit of luck."
Get the latest F1 news from RacingNews365 directly in your Google feed! Click on the link below and you’ll see your favourite F1 website appearing even more often. That way, you’ll never miss any news, analyses, interviews, or exclusives.
Follow RacingNews365 on GoogleMost read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..












Join the conversation!