Lewis Hamilton has not had the best race weekend at Spa so far. He has not been able to qualify for the second part of both the Sprint Qualifying and the Grand Prix Qualifying. But after the Sprint race, he gave an indication that he has an idea of how to fix the issue.
Heading into the Belgian Grand Prix, Ferrari introduced a rear suspension update to the SF-25. There was a lot of hype around this update, with many hoping that it would allow them to start competing for wins. After the Sprint Qualifying, Hamilton indicated that the upgrade had no impact on the car, but he has since corrected the statement after the Sprint race.
Lewis Hamilton is now understanding new Ferrari updates
The Sprint race in Spa allowed Hamilton to test out the rear suspension a bit more. Here’s what he said while talking to Sky Sports after the Sprint Race:
“Well, the positive is I didn’t spin and I did move forward, but it was a really tough race.
“[…] I’ve definitely learned a lot about the upgrades that we have.
“[…] So it’s just about fine-tuning it. Yesterday was the first time running it for me, and I think now it’s just about fine-tuning it; we can make some changes between now and quali.
“My actual pace in [sprint] qualy was pretty good, not so much I would say in the race, but position is obviously important here, but I hope today for a better result.”
Lewis Hamilton Pours Cold Water on Ferrari Hype After Suspension Test Felt ‘The Same’
After this, he headed into the qualifying session, where he was knocked out of Q1 again. However, this time, he apologized and took responsibility for a mistake he made that saw his time get deleted. If the time had not been deleted, he would have been safely into Q2 and most likely Q3 as well.
But like he mentioned, he is slowly understanding the update to the SF-25. The fact that this is a Sprint Weekend certainly does not help, as there is only one practice session.
What can we expect from Hamilton at the Belgian GP?
Heading into Sunday for the main race, there is no doubt that the 7-time champion has a poor starting position. However, anything can happen tomorrow for one single reason: the weather.
Weather reports are predicting an 80% chance of rain at Spa in time for the Grand Prix start. This is when Formula 1 races become even more unpredictable. The right strategy could put Hamilton from P16 straight onto the podium tomorrow.
We saw this happen in the last race, where Nico Hulkenberg went from P19 to the podium all because he pitted in the perfect window. So let’s not count out anything for Hamilton at the Belgian GP.
Where do you think Lewis Hamilton can finish at the Belgian Grand Prix? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
