Hamilton reveals technical issue with SM after his encouraging performance in Montreal qualifying
Ferrari’s Saturday at the Canadian Grand Prix delivered a blend of promise and frustration. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton felt comfortable behind the wheel of his SF-26, but a technical issue on his last qualifying lap robbed him of a top result.
Lewis Hamilton showed some of his strongest one‑lap form of the season, feeling comfortable in the SF‑26 throughout the weekend, while Charles Leclerc endured a difficult qualifying session that left him the slowest of the top four teams.
The Sprint earlier in the day had already hinted at the team’s uneven trajectory: Hamilton started aggressively but faded, while Leclerc recovered positions after capitalising on his team‑mate’s struggles.
Hamilton made one of the best starts of the Sprint, immediately passing Oscar Piastri and looking sharp in the early laps. But as the stint progressed, tyre life became an issue. A brush with the wall cost him momentum, allowing Piastri to reclaim the position. Moments later, Hamilton’s rear stepped out again, opening the door for Leclerc to slip through as well.
It was a reminder that while Ferrari’s medium‑tyre pace has been competitive, the car remains sensitive to temperature and balance shifts—especially on a cold Montréal track.
Qualifying brought a clearer picture of Ferrari’s potential. Leclerc struggled from the outset, unable to extract performance and even warning over the radio that he might “put it in the wall.” Hamilton, by contrast, looked composed and competitive, particularly through Q2 and the opening run of Q3.
He summarised the session : "It was a good session overall and I felt comfortable in the car, especially through Q2 and on the first run in Q3. We made a small change ahead of qualifying that worked well and the team did a strong job improving the car throughout the session.
"The final lap didn’t come together quite as I wanted, but we are making progress and I feel hopeful that we can keep moving in the right direction. The race could be very unpredictable tomorrow so I’ll be ready to take advantage of any opportunities."
Hamilton later explained the exact moment the lap slipped away: "I was feeling great up until the last lap. Basically, I did a good prep, I came out of the last corner to start the lap and didn't get the SM [Straight Mode] on and by the time I realised into Turn 1, I was down two tenths."
He clawed some of the deficit back, but the lap was already compromised: "I caught some of it back but then had that wide moment. When you're pushing and trying to get everything out it can be on the knife-edge."
Despite the mistake, Hamilton remained upbeat about Ferrari’s progress and the potential impact of Sunday’s weather: "But the car was feeling good and the team did a really great job, so I hope tomorrow when the weather is better, when it's raining, hopefully we have a good chance."
