After a disappointing ninth-place qualifying in Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton appeared dejected. Despite his strong history at this track, his fastest qualifying lap was significantly slower than the pole position and his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.

This qualifying position placed Hamilton ninth on the grid for Sunday`s race and raised concerns about the reasons behind his performance.

Hamilton admitted to reporters that he lacked answers for his lack of pace. When questioned about whether this was his lowest point since joining Ferrari, he confirmed it was definitely not a positive feeling.

Four Races of Inconsistent Performance

Assessing Hamilton`s initial races with Ferrari has been challenging. From his first test drive at Fiorano, he emphasized the stark differences compared to his previous Mercedes cars.

Even for an experienced driver like Hamilton, adjusting to the new car was expected to take time. While Hamilton anticipated this learning curve, the initial hype surrounding his Ferrari move set high expectations that were difficult to meet immediately.

A surprising pole position and sprint race win in China offered a positive result after a tough debut in Australia. However, this Chinese sprint performance seems to be an outlier, highlighting the ongoing adaptation process, as his performance in the main Chinese Grand Prix and other races did not match this.

By the third race in Japan, Hamilton felt he was progressing and indicated that the team had identified a car adjustment that could potentially close the gap to Leclerc by a tenth of a second per lap. Given the close qualifying battles with Leclerc in the first four races (averaging a 0.048-second deficit), this adjustment seemed promising for Bahrain.

Reportedly, this car difference was addressed for Bahrain. However, this only made Hamilton`s qualifying performance even more perplexing and frustrating.

In the qualifying sessions, Hamilton was slightly faster than Leclerc in Q1, but then became progressively slower, ending up almost 0.6 seconds behind in Q3 – his largest deficit to his teammate this season. A deleted lap due to track limits in Q3 was inconsequential as his initial lap was already considerably slower.

While Hamilton couldn`t initially pinpoint the reasons for the gap to Leclerc, telemetry data provided insights. He matched Leclerc in the initial corners but lost time in slower corners, particularly Turns 7 and 8.

Leclerc carried more speed through Turns 8 and 10, gaining a significant time advantage on the following straight. He was also faster through Turns 11 and 13, further increasing his lead over Hamilton.

Crucially, this time loss wasn`t due to driver errors like lock-ups or oversteer, suggesting a fundamental difference in pace compared to Leclerc in those specific corners.

Race Day Turnaround

Sunday`s race presented a more positive narrative for Hamilton. He improved from ninth to fifth place, experiencing a turning point in his feeling with the car during the second stint.

Ferrari employed a different strategy in Bahrain, starting both cars on medium tires while most of the top ten began on softs. This allowed for longer initial stints. Both Ferrari drivers pitted around lap 18. Hamilton rejoined in 11th, while Leclerc remained in podium contention in fourth.

After his pit stop, Hamilton set the fastest lap and then overtook five cars in the subsequent laps, climbing to sixth place. His pace in the second stint was evident as he reduced a 16.7-second gap to George Russell to 11.3 seconds before a safety car period. Although Russell`s tires were older, Hamilton`s progress involved overtaking while Russell had clear track ahead.

Comparing to Leclerc over the same stint, Hamilton only lost minimal time despite his overtakes. After passing Esteban Ocon for sixth, Hamilton even began closing the gap to Leclerc.

While this analysis is based on a limited portion of the race, Hamilton reported a significantly better feeling in the car during this phase, fostering optimism for future races.

Hamilton described his race as much more positive, highlighting a strong connection with the car and improved balance in the middle stint. He felt his driving style was finally working, leading to significant learning from the weekend, potentially more than previous races.

He acknowledged that qualifying needed improvement but believed that replicating his car feel from the middle stint and improving qualifying would lead to better race weekends.

Hamilton has consistently acknowledged the need to adapt his driving style for Ferrari, but identifying the specific changes hasn`t been straightforward. In Japan, he and Leclerc diverged on setup choices. In Bahrain, Hamilton opted for a setup closer to Leclerc’s.

During the second stint, he seemed to gain a better understanding of extracting performance from this setup, particularly under braking. This phase before the safety car offered hope for the upcoming Saudi Arabian race.

Hamilton reflected on the challenge of adapting after driving in a specific style with Mercedes for many years. He noted differences with Ferrari, such as using engine braking and different brake systems (Brembo instead of Carbon Industrie). He recognized the need to adjust his driving style to the Ferrari car.

He observed Leclerc`s consistent setup approach throughout weekends and admitted to being distant from Leclerc`s pace initially in both Japan and Bahrain. He aimed to improve his weekend preparation and setup process.

Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur acknowledged the adaptation challenge for Hamilton and emphasized the importance of self-reflection when Hamilton underperforms compared to Leclerc.

Vasseur stressed that adapting from 12 years with Mercedes to Ferrari takes time and continuous improvement is essential for everyone in the team. He appreciated Hamilton`s mindset of acknowledging his need to adapt to the car while the team also works to adjust the car to him.

Vasseur welcomed Hamilton`s disappointment after qualifying, seeing it as a sign of high standards and a desire to improve. He noted Hamilton`s strong performance earlier in the Bahrain weekend, making the qualifying result more frustrating.

After the China sprint`s false promise, expectations for immediate performance leaps are tempered for Saudi Arabia. However, by adopting a setup closer to Leclerc and gaining a better understanding of it, Hamilton is anticipated to be in a stronger position going forward.

Hamilton concluded by saying he needs to simplify his approach and start weekends in a better setup window. He believes he is understanding the car`s driving preferences and aims to apply this knowledge to improve qualifying and overall race performance in the next event.