After a dominant start to the 2025 F1 Chinese GP weekend, Lewis Hamilton’s weekend took a somewhat sour turn during the qualifying session. Though he made it into the third round (Q3), he struggled to get his car to the top of the timesheet, and ultimately, qualified fifth—three-tenths off pole-sitter Oscar Piastri. Hamilton, winner of Saturday’s Sprint Race, will now start Sunday’s Feature Race from the third row, alongside Scuderia Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, who qualified sixth.
Ferrari “not terribly far away” in performance
While speaking in the print media zone after qualifying, Hamilton stated that, despite their comparative lack of competitiveness against McLaren and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, the team had improved the SF-25, having made some changes after Sprint Qualifying.
“We made a couple of changes to the car after Sprint qualifying to rectify some of the problems we had. And the car, I don’t know if it’s the wind but the car has become quite snappy.”
Hamilton does, however, believe that his performance in the Chinese GP qualifying session is a step forward from that in Australia, explaining that he had compromised his result with a less-than-ideal lap at the end of the session.
“I think the lap wasn’t the cleanest at the end and I probably should have been a couple of tenths further up.
“We’re not terribly far away, but not ideal,” Hamilton added.
Hamilton hoping to replicate Sprint race pace on Sunday
Having dominated the Sprint race, claiming an early lead and building up a safe gap to his rivals in P2, Hamilton hopes to have similar pace during Sunday’s race, despite the warmer conditions expected.
“I really do hope so,” he answered when asked if he hoped to replicate his Saturday pace on Sunday.
He believes that the race, and his performance in it, will be “interesting” with Ferrari having made some changes to improve their race performance.
“We’ve made some changes to improve the race performance, but it’s definitely harder than a single lap, so it’s going to be interesting.”
Despite these improvements and his preference for the characteristics of the Shanghai International Circuit, Hamilton expects tyre management to pose a challenge during the Chinese GP race. Good tyre management, he believes, will be crucial for a strong performance.
“It’s a great track to race on, so it’s not a circuit where you only have one line everywhere. That’s the positive, but you can see people are still struggling to follow one another this morning. So how you use the tyres, when you use the tyres, is going to be key tomorrow.”
Hamilton optimistic for Sunday race
Though he will start Sunday’s race from the third row, the seven-time world champion feels optimistic going into the final day of the Chinese GP weekend. While he hopes to enjoy similar pace throughout the race, Hamilton, Hamilton plans to work his way up the field after a strong start.
“If I can do the same thing [that I did in the Sprint], yes. But again, I’m in a much different position as well. Yeah, but I feel optimistic for tomorrow.
“I’d like to get a good start and jump at least one car, and then slowly work my way up.
“Tonight I’m just going to make a master plan of how to do it, and then I’ve got to try and execute it. But that’s where my mindset is at.”
Hamilton to “give it everything” in Sunday’s race, despite unexpected qualifying result
After such a positive start to his weekend, Hamilton was asked if he believed that his performances in the Chinese GP indicated positive progress with Ferrari.
“Yeah, definitely,” he replied, before explaining that while the team had not expected to finish fifth and sixth in qualifying, they understood that they would be faced with “ups and downs” throughout the season. He emphasised the importance of remaining calm despite challenges and stated that he planned to “just give it everything” during Sunday’s Chinese GP Race.
“I mean, it’s going to be swings and roundabouts, right? It’s going to be ups and downs. And again, this afternoon we didn’t expect to be fifth or sixth, or at least I didn’t expect to be where I am.
“But it’s what we’re going to be faced with through the season, so we’ve just got to try and stay calm. And as I said this morning, I’m going to just give it everything tomorrow and see what we take.”
When asked if this was the weekend in the ground effect era that he felt comfortable behind the wheel, Hamilton admitted that he did not remember. Nevertheless, he insisted that it had been one of his happiest weekends, and added that he planned to “get out there and drive”.
“It’s been so many weekends, I don’t really remember, but it’s probably one of the happiest. I’m just going to continue to get out there and drive.”
Ferrari and Hamilton “generally already do” have “great rapport”
Hamilton also addressed his rapport with his new team, Ferrari. After some tense moments with his race engineer, Riccardo Ademi, during the 2025 Australian GP, some speculation emerged over Hamilton’s rapport with his new team.
However, Hamilton rubbished any claims of poor rapport with his new team, explaining that there is a good relationship present between the parties and that they would collectively work on improving it as the season progresses.
“We have a great rapport, so it’s like everyone’s saying that we don’t, but we generally already do. And it will continue to get better, but he’s got a great sense of humour.”
