Lewis Hamilton expressed confidence that Ferrari's car has moved into a more favourable position following a series of adjustments made before the Dutch Grand Prix qualifying session. Despite starting the race from the third row, Hamilton believes the team can still be "optimistic" about their chances on Sunday.

Ferrari currently sit as Mercedes' closest rivals in both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships, yet they qualified a full three‑tenths of a second off the pole position at Zandvoort, the first race back after the summer hiatus. Hamilton posted the fifth‑fastest time, while teammate Charles Leclerc was sixth, meaning both will line up behind the Mercedes and McLaren entries, with Lando Norris occupying pole. Although a fifth‑place grid slot may not look spectacular, it represented a clear improvement for Hamilton compared with the earlier Sprint Qualifying, where he had qualified and finished seventh.

"A very different session and a very different car," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 after the main qualifying. He noted that the car felt strong and consistent during practice, but there were still areas that needed refinement. Subtle changes were introduced to address those issues, which, according to Hamilton, turned the car's balance around dramatically – a turnaround that was not evident during Sprint Qualifying, where he felt the car was "horrible" and lacked confidence.

"We made all these changes into Qualifying, so I was learning a new car again, a new balance which I'm much happier with – trying to progress with it and learning with only like six laps was a challenge," Hamilton explained. He acknowledged that Mercedes‑powered cars still have a power advantage, but he expects Ferrari's race pace to be stronger than its qualifying performance. "Also all the Mercedes‑powered cars are ahead and we know we have a bit of a deficit on power, so I think our race pace should be better and the car is better for the race," he added. The earlier Sprint race on Saturday suggested that Ferrari's package could be competitive on Zandvoort's twisty, undulating layout.

Leclerc finished second, just 1.3 seconds behind George Russell, and his overtake on Norris with six laps remaining was the only position change among the top ten after the opening lap. Even though Zandvoort is not renowned for easy overtaking, Hamilton did not rule out the possibility of the SF‑26 fighting for podium places again. "I feel optimistic," he said. "Fifth is not the greatest but it could be far worse, so I'm grateful to be there but of course I wish I was up further ahead.

However, our race pace was good in the Sprint. Charles had good race pace and the car is in a better place.

Hopefully with the right strategy and right execution we can challenge the cars ahead." Leclerc's late move on Norris was somewhat unexpected, given that he was the sole front‑runner to run the 24‑lap Sprint on the soft tyre compound – a tyre that offers immediate speed but degrades more quickly. While the soft tyre had initially positioned him as a pole contender, Leclerc never appeared to be a serious threat in any of the three knockout stages. "I don't think the conditions played a role," he said. "We changed the power strategies a bit too much throughout qualifying, then in Q3 I had some weird things going on, so we lost a bit of performance there.

At no time during qualifying did I have the potential of pole." Dropping to sixth on Sunday’s grid after Hamilton’s late improvement, Leclerc remained realistic about the challenges ahead. "Realistically it will be very difficult to overtake on track but we will do our best and see where we end up. Starting from sixth doesn’t make our life easy, so it will be a tough race but the pace is there, so I hope we can do something with strategy and offset ourselves to the others," he remarked. Team principal Frédéric Vasseur took a positive view of the Sprint performance, noting that the race’s likely multi‑stop nature could work in Ferrari’s favour.

"The race pace in the Sprint was very strong so we will try to come back," Vasseur said. "We had a good comparison between the two tyre compounds in the Sprint which is probably the best preparation we can have for the race. It's very difficult to overtake. It will probably be two or three pit stops which mean everything is open." Vasseur also commented on the latest round of upgrades to the SF‑26, which include a new floor introduced after Friday’s sole practice session.

"It’s working as per the plan," he confirmed. "From the beginning of the season, every time we brought something it’s worked per the plan. It’s a positive side of the development this year. We are bringing a lot of upgrades at each race, not big ones, so we are not expecting to gain five tenths per race.

But it’s working as expected." The Dutch Grand Prix schedule lists the build‑up from 12:30 pm, the main race at 2 pm, and a post‑race reaction segment later in the afternoon. Fans can follow the action live on Sky Sports F1, with streaming available via NOW without a long‑term contract. The event promises a thrilling showdown as Ferrari aims to translate its improved race pace into a stronger finish, while Mercedes and McLaren look to consolidate their positions at the front of the grid.