Lewis Hamilton: Medium poker at Ferrari "not on the radar at all"

(Motorsport-Total.com) - Lewis Hamilton secured a decent starting position for the race with fifth place in qualifying in Montreal. However, the Ferrari driver hadn't necessarily expected such a good position after a difficult Friday: "Just getting into Q3 was like, wow, this looks good. It's positive," said Hamilton.

"Before, we were struggling to get into Q3 even with four fresh softs. And I was very happy with that. It could have been much worse," said the Briton. "I could be further back and feeling much worse. I'm grateful where I am."

The weekend was a rare example of consistent progress at Ferrari. This season, Hamilton has mostly experienced mixed Friday practice sessions due to repeated issues with the car.

"Most of the time, FP1 and FP2 go like this: like in previous races, we had problems in FP2 because something wasn't working on the car. For example, the underbody wasn't working, or the rear wing stopped working. There was always something that caused us to have less downforce."

This time, however, they had already found a solid foundation on Friday: "We changed a lot and the car felt better - that was actually the first time this season," said the 40-year-old.

No thought of medium tires

For Hamilton, the key to the improvement was not only the technology, but also his own efforts. "I think most of the improvements today probably came from my driving. I adjusted my driving style a bit," he explains.

The peculiarities of this year's Ferrari are a particular challenge: "This car drives so much differently than the one I had before. In the slow corners, you wait and wait—it just doesn't want to turn. It's definitely not built for this track," he says.

What wasn't an issue for Ferrari in qualifying, by the way, was a possible gamble on medium tires, like the one George Russell and Max Verstappen used to secure the front row. But at Ferrari, that wasn't "even on their radar," as Hamilton admitted.

But he didn't feel comfortable on either compound anyway. "Both tires felt pretty much the same. I think we were still able to get a lot out of it."

Hamilton aims for podium finish

From his position, the veteran sees opportunities for the race – not least because he is one of the few in the leading group with a fresh set of medium tires at his disposal: "We have new mediums, while those in front of us have used ones. Maybe that will help us."

Although the gap to the leaders is currently still large because "the fundamental basis" of the car is "quite far away" from the others, if the setup and balance are right, there is still a lot of potential for improvement: "The podium remains my goal in any case."

Especially at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, which has carried Hamilton to victory several times in the past, he knows the opportunities that a turbulent race can offer: "I've had great races in my history here. Of course, a lot can happen here. I'm open to that."