Lewis Hamilton has revealed he has “so many notes” for his Ferrari team to “fix” after a dismal weekend at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Hamilton crashed out in the first part of Friday’s sprint qualifying and Saturday’s qualifying before finishing 12th in the Grand Prix – his joint-worst finishing position of the season.
The seven-time world champion said the car felt like a “fight like you wouldn’t believe” as he looks set to end his first campaign in red without a podium, having finished at least one race in the top three every year since joining the sport in 2007.
“It’s definitely been the most challenging year in and out of the car. I have so many notes in terms of things we need to improve on,” Hamilton said. Ski Sports F1.
“Time will tell whether or not we act on those things and stick with the things that are good and change the things that aren’t – and there are a lot of those.”
“There’s literally no reason why we can’t fix it if we just put them into action. I’m hopeful that we’ll make progress.”
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Hamilton was a man of few words after crashing out of SK1 at the Qatar Grand Prix
Hamilton said after the November Grand Prix in Las Vegas that he was “not looking forward” to next year despite the new regulations providing the opportunity for teams to move up the pecking order.
Team boss Frederik Wasser said: “This comes 10 minutes after a tough race and I can perfectly understand the frustration.
“When he says he’s ‘not focused on 2026’, it’s because he’s focused on his own race which was difficult. This frustration, we have to take the positive from it. We take it as a positive reaction. We have to improve, that’s clear.”
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Ferrari team boss Frederik Wasser insists he sees no problem with Lewis Hamilton’s bad comments after Las Vegas Grand Prix
Vasseur admits he “underestimated” the psychological toll of halting development
Ferrari halted development of this year’s car in April when they realized any championship hopes were unlikely after McLaren’s early dominance.
The team and drivers agreed with the decision, but Wasser admits he “underestimated” the psychological impact it would have on Ferrari.
“When you have another 20 races or 18 races and you know you’re not going to bring any development in aerodynamics, it’s quite difficult to manage psychologically,” Vasseur said.
“But overall, we’ve continued to work. We’ve brought in some mechanical upgrades and we’re trying to do a better job operationally, and this is the DNA of our sport. We have to accept this. It was a call, and I’m still confident in the call we made.”
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Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc had a huge spin during Q3 at the Qatar Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc snuck into SK3 and K3 in Qatar and then finished eighth in the race after “pushing like hell” from Friday practice according to Vasseur, who feels the track layout and conditions did not suit Ferrari.
“In Qatar, bear in mind we have all the same cars as two weeks ago, that means it’s more about the track and the conditions than anything else (due to the lack of pace),” he explained.
“If you compare it to Sao Paulo when we were in good form and this weekend, it’s a set-up thing. It means it’s part of the game, part of the team’s life, that sometimes you struggle a bit more to find the right window.
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Hamilton suffered another qualifying disaster at the Qatar Grand Prix, eliminated in Q1 for the second time during the Sprint weekend
“I think the window is quite narrow, and the fact that the field is much tougher – lose two or three tenths, you’re at the back. It’s been this way since the middle of the season, and it will be the same in Abu Dhabi. It’s the same in Abu Dhabi.
“If we don’t do a good job, it was true for Max in Sao Paulo, you can go out in the first quarter because of set-up problems.”
The 2025 Formula One season concludes with the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday. Stream Ski Sports from NOW – no contract, cancel anytime