Hamilton confessed Ferrari had been aware of Mercedes' dominant power unit last year

Lewis Hamilton emerged from Sprint Qualifying at the Shanghai International Circuit feeling upbeat, after securing fourth place on the grid for Saturday’s Sprint.

The Ferrari driver delivered a composed performance in SQ3, placing himself between the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and crucially ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, who ended the session sixth.

Hamilton’s positive mood marked a clear contrast to the difficult practice session earlier in the day, where a spin and balance issues left him searching for confidence. After the turnaround in qualifying, he was quick to credit the work done by his crew.

“Really pleased with the session,” Hamilton said. “My team did a really great job, my engineers did a fantastic job to turn the car around, because in P1 it was a tricky session with that spin. The car generally felt great.”

Despite the encouraging step forward, Hamilton acknowledged that Ferrari still faces a significant challenge in straight‑line performance—an area where Mercedes, the benchmark of the session, held a clear advantage.

“I think we’re losing… I think it’s on the straights, it’s a lot of time to be losing,” he explained. “We have a lot of work to do, we really have to push so hard back in Maranello to improve on power.”

Hamilton suggested that Mercedes’ early start on the current regulations may be paying dividends once again. “It’s something that I think we were conscious of last year,” he said.

“We thought that Mercedes started earlier than us, or the rest, which they did last time as well. They’ve done a fantastic job, and we’ve got to step up, we’ve got to push to be able to close that gap.”

Still, Hamilton was encouraged by the car’s behaviour through the corners, where Ferrari appeared competitive. “I think car‑wise, the car feels great, and I think we can compete with them through corners, but when you’re down on power it’s just the way it is.”