Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton’s message over the radio following yet another disappointing outing in Ferrari at the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint on Saturday throws further questions over the SF’25’s
grip.
Hamilton finished P18 on the back of a 1:22.043 lap as his look for encouraging results in the iconic Prancing Horse goes on in a trying debut season.
“I don’t know how we made the car worse,” he exclaimed at the conclusion of the race.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri cruised to a scintillating win, followed by Mercedes’ George Rusell in second and McLaren teammate Lando Norris in third, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen came in fourth.
Aston Martin Fernando Alonso and team-mate Tsunoda were overtaken by Verstappen for third place. Despite his vocal complaints about the car on Friday, Verstappen seemed revitalized and highly focused under the floodlights as he aimed to challenge Norris. However, the Briton successfully defended his position and remained unreachable.
“It’s been good so far and everything went smoothly,” said Piastri.
“I’m happy so far and now just have to keep it rolling,” the 25-year-old Australian driver said.
“I never saw him,’ Norris said about his teammate’s seamless drive through the circuit on the eve of the main raceday.
“Just George ahead…. I wasn’t looking behind. It felt like a lot of pushing and it will be a tough race tomorrow,” he added.
Piastri’s achievement of securing his third consecutive sprint race victory at the Lusail International Circuit narrowed Norris’s lead, while Verstappen fell further behind, trailing the Briton by 25 points. This marked Piastri’s first triumph since winning the Dutch Grand Prix on August 31, a race where he had led the championship. Piastri attributed his return to form to a resurgence in pace and performance on the high-speed, high-grip circuit, which aligned well with his racing style.
