Hamilton’s pole ambition in Melbourne: ‘Never say never’

Lewis Hamilton suggests it’s a long shot given his still imperfect knowledge of Ferrari’s SF-25, but the seven-time world champion is determined to give it his all in Saturday’s qualifying session at Albert Park to secure his first pole with the Scuderia.

Hamilton concluded Friday’s practice in fifth place, 0.420 seconds adrift of his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, who topped the timesheets.

Despite still getting to grips with the Italian outfit’s contender, Hamilton’s hunger for success remains undiminished.

He is therefore not backing down from a potential milestone achievement in qualifying.

“For me, I think it’s a little bit early as I just continue to get to learn the car, but never say never,” he said after his opening day of running in Melbourne.

“I’ll still give it everything I’ve got tomorrow,” he vowed.

Avoid Undue Pressure 

Hamilton’s approach is simple: focus on improvement without putting unnecessary pressure on himself.

“I’m just not putting too much pressure on,” he added. “I’m going to try to enjoy it. I’ve got some pace to find. I know where to find it. It’s just about going out there and doing it and just building.”

Hamilton openly acknowledged that his experience at Mercedes made him accustomed to knowing the exact adjustments to make. Now, he’s navigating a different path as he adapts to life at Ferrari.

“P1 was a little bit messy. P2 was definitely starting to look a little bit better,” he reflected. “Also, I’m still getting used to all of the setup changes.

“I don’t have them on call like I used to have with Mercedes where I’d been there so long, I knew exactly all the setup changes.

“So I’m still working through understanding what tools we can use, and it’s interesting – you can see with Charles, he just knows because he’s been here for such a long time.”

Leclerc’s Cautious Optimism

While Hamilton continues his learning process, Charles Leclerc’s confidence in the SF-25 is evident, but he remains wary of making bold predictions.

Leclerc knows the competition is super fierce again this season, with Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari all vying for supremacy.

“I want to be cautious; let’s wait and see,” said the Monegasque. “But it’s right to say that after a day like this, we are looking forward to tomorrow and we want to target pole position.”

The eight-time Grand Prix winner refrained from singling out any particular rival as the primary threat, acknowledging the unpredictable nature of the current grid.

“For now, it is too early to say. I don’t think we’ve seen the real pace of everybody yet and I think some teams might hide their game a bit more than others,” he noted.

“But for sure, McLaren is up there. I think Red Bull might be struggling a little bit more for now, but you never know with them, and especially with Max, you can never rule them out. For sure, they will be in the fight.

“Mercedes look strong as well, so it is going to be a good fight, I’m sure.”

Read also:

• Vasseur’s verdict: ‘No doubt’ Hamilton will soon perform at Ferrari

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