Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton can feel the difference after a P5 position at the F1 Bahrain GP.
Lewis Hamilton has struggled over the last 3 races as the newest Ferrari driver, with his teammate Charles Leclerc outperforming him at every race.
The seven-time World Champion fought hard as he started in P9 after a lackluster qualifying session.
But, he scraped his way back up and fought wheel to wheel with the current leader in the Drivers Championship, McLaren’s Lando Norris, to secure a P5.
Hamilton’s “night and day different” attitude.
When Hamilton was asked about how he felt after the race, compared to his qualifying sessions.
Hamilton was pessimistic but said:
“Oh yeah, night and day different.
“Of course, hard afternoon to progress; it was not easy out there. Everyone’s so close, and you know the car is sometimes quite hard to drive, so I’m really working hard to adapt my driving style, that’s what I really got to do. And also get the setup where I needed.
“We’ve got a much better setup where I moved to, where Charles [Leclerc] was, and he didn’t move away from that all weekend, and I think just getting confidence in that and then adjusting the driver’s style to it.”
He added further: “But the team did a great job with the pit stops today and the strategy.”
Hamilton ‘had the pace’
The seven-time World Champion has been known throughout his career to outperform in qualifying with a record number of 104 pole positions to his name.
When asked about this and if he needed to work on this or needed a bit more time, Hamilton said: “I learned a lot today, and as you saw that middle stint, I really was in line with the car and in that moment, I had the pace and I was moving forwards.
“I needed that at the beginning and at the end, and need it in qualifying so I know what to search for now.”
Hamilton is taking it ‘easier’
When talking to Sky Sports F1, Hamilton also talked about how he is starting to understand the Ferrari and has to take it easy on himself.
The Briton said:
“I’ve got to just make it easier for myself. I’m doing it all the hard way at the moment. I’ll try next week to start in a better place and not deviate from that too much.
“I think I’ve figured out how the car likes to drive, so hopefully, if I can apply that next week, if I can qualify better, I can have a much better weekend.”
