Hamilton and Leclerc explain why Ferrari lost momentum in US GP Qualifying at Austin

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc analysed Ferrari’s drop-off from Friday practice to Saturday’s United States Grand Prix Qualifying in Austin, after the Scuderia could only manage fourth (Leclerc) and fifth (Hamilton) in Q3. Hamilton said Ferrari’s car behaved well across the lap, but that rivals were able to keep pulling once power was cut entering key corners, especially on the straights relative to their opponents.

Leclerc echoed that the team’s competitors appeared to carry more speed down the straights into Qualifying. He described the session as disappointing after the Scuderia had shown strong pace in free practice, adding that in Q3 he did not have an optimum out lap. According to Leclerc, tyre temperature and operating window were therefore not in the right place, and he estimated that being “one or two degrees” off in Q3 made a “huge difference.”

Hamilton framed Ferrari’s deficit in terms of straight-line performance. He pointed to the lap from the straight into Turn 1, where he said Ferrari “cut power” while rivals continued to accelerate, and he highlighted similar patterns at other points on the circuit, including approaching Turn 11 and possibly Turn 12. He referenced on-board “overlays” and said the gap was visible on track, even though his own car felt “really good” and the lap was “solid” with no issues.

Hamilton also suggested that recent developments by rivals had reduced Ferrari’s margin in the corners while preserving the speed advantage on the straights. He said Ferrari had to contend with an SF-26 that had been acknowledged as the season benchmark for much of the year, but that Red Bull had “closed up on chassis,” while Mercedes had taken at least a “three-tenth” upgrade step a couple of races earlier. In Hamilton’s view, those changes mean rivals are “matching” Ferrari through the turns, leaving the Scuderia unable to respond with a similar straight-line step during this season.

Asked about Red Bull’s Ford power unit performance, Hamilton said the advantage could vary by section of the track, citing gaps that he said could range from “three-tenths” to “three to five tenths” and possibly “four-tenths.” He again tied the difference to what he sees on corner approach, describing how his car “starts dipping” into Turn 1 while Red Bull keeps its pull going, which he said is difficult to counter if Ferrari does not have comparable power.

Leclerc said Ferrari now need to understand the difficulty of extracting performance in Q3. While he acknowledged “reasons” for what happened, he stressed frustration and said the team must work harder to understand the tyres “even better” than it is currently doing. His central point was that Ferrari pay a large price if they are even slightly outside the tyres’ optimal window, whereas—he said—its rivals normally manage to extract lap time more easily once Q3 starts.

Despite qualifying behind the front-running rivals, Hamilton said he remains hopeful about Sunday’s race. He described overtaking as very difficult at Austin, noting that even if a driver starts from a strong grid position, it can still be hard to pass over race distance. Hamilton suggested that opportunities could come through strategy, including aiming for a “good run up into Turn 1,” where he believes there is potential to improve outcomes from fourth and fifth on the grid.