Lewis Hamilton is hopeful he can enjoy a more positive race on Sunday in Belgium compared to his outing in qualifying.
Hamilton's day on Saturday took a significant dent when a crash in the closing stages of FP3 put his Ferrari team in a race against time to get the car ready for qualifying.
But having been a consistent threat towards the front in recent rounds, Ferrari was unable to challenge over one lap.
Charles Leclerc was fifth fastest as he narrowly out-paced Hamilton, who admitted his car was subtly different after the mechanics rebuilt it.
When asked if he hopes Ferrari's pace will be stronger over a race distance, Hamilton told media including RacingNews365: “I hope so.
“In FP3 the car was feeling really good, and I did a bit of a long run, the car was feeling great.
“It is a slightly different, subtly different car setup-wise, so I'm still hoping it's good.”
Throughout the weekend in Belgium, several drivers have noted how differently they have to drive the new cars to extract performance.
Asked to give his opinion of the cars around Spa, Hamilton stated: “It's just not good on the straights, but through the corners, the cars are great.
“It's just in a straight line, it's not great.”
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!