‘Everything has been more enjoyable’ – Hamilton buoyed by return to Q3 in Zandvoort

Lewis Hamilton achieved his goals in Qualifying at the Dutch Grand Prix after returning to the final segment of Qualifying – although his Ferrari team mate Charles Leclerc wasn’t quite so positive.

ZANDVOORT, NETHERLANDS - AUGUST 30: Seventh placed qualifier Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc shared contrasting experiences in Qualifying at the Dutch Grand Prix, despite just one position separating the Ferrari team mates.

Prior to Saturday’s Qualifying session, Hamilton had missed out on a Q3 or SQ3 berth on three consecutive occasions. In this respect, the seven-time champion was pleased with his execution of the afternoon after going seventh fastest.

“I think this weekend, definitely, we’ve seen progress, and that was the goal,” said Hamilton, who had termed himself “useless” at the previous race weekend in Hungary. “A better approach, and overall, just everything has been more enjoyable, so I’ve definitely enjoyed it. I think I got the most out of the car in pretty much every session.

“I think in that last lap, when I came out of Turn 1, I was already a tenth and a half down. I need to look into why, I can’t remember exactly. But then you’re on the back foot from then on.

“I think today, probably close to P5 would have been possible. With the wind and everything, it’s quite tricky for all of us.”

Asked what potential there is to fight on Sunday, he added: “The McLarens are in another league. I think we’re obviously quite close to the cars that are around us. It’s a very difficult circuit to overtake on, so strategy is going to come into play.

“Hopefully, the rain can throw a bit of a spanner into the mix, and I’m going to maximise.”

After the two Friday sessions, Leclerc had branded the day the “worst Friday of the season” and claimed that a “miracle” was needed to turn his fortunes around.

Qualifying in sixth place, one position higher than Hamilton, he cut a far more disgruntled figure when speaking after the session.

“I’m very disappointed,” said Leclerc. “It’s more I’m very disappointed with my own performance. I haven’t been very strong this weekend. I’ve been struggling with the car, I’ve been trying to find something that was probably not in the car, and I’ve had to change things from one session to the next all of the time. You don’t really find the consistency or build-up in something.

ZANDVOORT, NETHERLANDS - AUGUST 30: Sixth placed qualifier Charles Leclerc of Monaco and ScuderiaLeclerc has found it tough going at Zandvoort so far this weekend

“On top of that, I didn’t do a good job in Q3, I didn’t put the lap together, so I’m not very happy with my performance. I’m not very happy also with the car performance, but at least we kind of knew that we were going to struggle this weekend. But it is the way it is.”

He added: “This race is quite specific, and for some reason, I think that this track kind of highlights our weaknesses more than other tracks.”

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