Canadian GP: Lewis Hamilton plans not to use Ferrari simulator after strong sprint qualifying | F1 News

Lewis Hamilton says not using Ferrari’s simulator is “the way forward” for him after being encouraged by his performance in Canadian Grand Prix sprint qualifying.

Hamilton looked like Mercedes’ closest challenger for most of the session, only to make a small mistake in his final run that left him fifth on the grid for Saturday’s shortened race.

But his effort was still good enough to beat his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in a competitive session at the track for the first time since the second round in China.

After a clear performance by Leclerc in the last two races in Japan and Miami, Hamilton confirmed in Montreal on Thursday that he had not used the simulator ahead of this weekend’s event.

“It’s probably our best qualifying session for a while,” said Hamilton. “Really great work with the engineers, setup changes, the car felt really great from P1, and we made subtle changes going into Quali.

“SQ1 and SQ2 looked good, and then I don’t know why others might like a little more, I don’t know.

“But I’m happy to be out there fighting. I was having a lot of fun out there. And, also, I didn’t do the sim, and it was the best feeling all year, so I think that’s the way forward for me.”

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has been a happy hunting ground for Hamilton since he claimed his first pole position and win at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix.

Ferrari were not expected to challenge at the front this weekend as they have no upgrades, while Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull have new parts in their cars.

But, Hamilton said the three-week gap since the last race had given Ferrari a chance to “verify the facts” and understand their car.

“I found that much more beneficial in terms of, one, I was able to just focus on training and not get distracted,” he said.

“And the second part is just going through a fine-grained comb over ride stability, corner balance and mechanical balance.

“And I chose a setup that we’ve never used before and it transformed the car for me, so I hope it will be good for the rest of the weekend.”

Leclerc revealed that he was “struggling with the brakes” which he did not understand and contributed to his lack of speed on Friday.

“I wasn’t at all comfortable with the car. We have to look at it and try to find something for tomorrow or it’s going to be a very long weekend,” he said.

“I went into the corner with the brakes hoping I wouldn’t go straight. That’s the main problem. Other than that the car is fine.

“Lewis was incredibly fast this weekend but I have to work on the feeling with the brakes. Hopefully we can turn things around.”

Verstappen: My foot was slipping off the pedal

After an encouraging weekend in Miami, Red Bull moved more than half a second clear of sprint pole-sitter George Russell and Max Verstappen was unhappy with the steering in practice in seventh, suggesting his car was not handling curbs and bumps as well as it should.

Verstappen, who was a tenth ahead of team-mate Issac Hajjar, said he was “not surprised” about Red Bull’s significant pace deficit.

“My feeling in the car was not very good,” said the four-time world champion.

“I was struggling a lot with riding. I couldn’t get my foot down, my foot was flying off the pedal. It made it very difficult to be consistent.

“It’s something we have to investigate. We’re stuck with it for the sprint. Hopefully it will be better for (race) qualifying.”

The fast-paced McLarens began to beat the Mercedes in the banking sprint

Mercedes’ biggest weakness this season has been race starts as the Silver Arrows have led after the opening corner only once in six starts in sprints and grands prix.

McLaren have been the best starters with Ferrari, so Lando Norris in third and Oscar Piastre in fourth are looking to leapfrog the Mercedes front row in the first few hundred metres.

“We’ve had better starts than Ferrari all year,” Piastre said.

“I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before Mercedes are competitive but we’ll do our best to take advantage until that time comes.”

McLaren brought the second part of their upgrade to Canada from Miami but elected not to run their new front wing in sprint qualifying.

Norris admitted he was “a bit worried” after practice and was surprised McLaren filled the second row.

“The car feels decent. Some things are maybe more questionable but it’s a strange track, so little grip. You’re going off the carbs,” he said.

“You’re not getting a true representation of everything and it’s hard to back up what we’re getting from the wind tunnel.

“We need a bit more time with some bits and will probably restart them next week or in Barcelona. But the rest of the car was working well. It’s a good step.”

Sky Sports F1’s Canadian GP schedule

Saturday 23 May
2.40pm: F1 Academy Race 1
4pm: Canadian GP sprint build-up
5pm: Canadian GP Sprint
6.30pm: Ted’s Sprint Notebook
7pm: F2 Sprint*
8.10pm: Canadian GP Qualifying Build Up*
9pm: Canadian GP Qualifying*
11pm: F1 Academy Race 2*
11.45pm: Ted’s Qualifications Notebook*

Sunday 24 May
3.40pm: F1 Academy Race 3
5pm: F2 Feature Race
7.30pm: Canadian GP Build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
9pm: Canadian Grand Prix*
11am: Canadian GP reaction: Checkered flag*
12am: Ted’s Notebook*

*Also on Sky Sports main events

Formula 1 is in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix and another sprint weekend. Watch live on Sky Sports F1, Sunday’s race at 9pm. Stream Sky Sports now – no contract, cancel anytime