Lewis Hamilton voiced his displeasure with Ferrari’s last‑minute change of tactics during the Q3 segment of qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, after ending the session in sixth place. The seven‑time world champion argued that the Italian team’s decision to run only a single, short stint at the end of the knockout phase left him without the aerodynamic benefit of a tow, a factor that proved crucial on Baku’s lengthy main straight. Hamilton pointed out that, unlike Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull, who each sent their cars out early in Q3 to complete several flying laps, Ferrari chose to wait until the final minutes and then ran just one lap.
This meant that when Hamilton set his final time he was leading the field and had no car ahead to generate a slipstream, which would have boosted his top‑end speed on the straight. By contrast, his teammate Charles Leclerc benefited from a tow because he was scheduled to go out second, allowing Hamilton’s car to provide the aerodynamic push.
Leclerc’s effort paid off, as he secured second place on the grid, trailing only the dominant pole‑sitter George Russell, who posted a season‑best half‑second advantage over his rivals. Reflecting on his own performance, Hamilton told Sky Sports F1: "It was a pretty bad qualifying once again. It’s not for lack of trying.
Q1 and Q2 were fairly decent – at least Q1 was solid – but we struggled a bit more in Q2 and then, as we moved into Q3, they changed the plan." He continued, "Instead of doing two runs we ended up waiting, and because I was ahead of Charles, I had nobody in front of me for a tow, which cost us a significant amount of time. In any case, we simply couldn’t match the Mercedes. Their straight‑line speed is just that much better, and they executed a fantastic lap." Hamilton acknowledged that three of the five cars ahead of him – Russell, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris – all run Mercedes power units, underscoring the difficulty of overtaking a Mercedes on Baku’s long straights. "I think it’ll be hard to pass a Mercedes tomorrow," he added, "Keeping up with a Mercedes engine on the straight will be tough, but I’ll give it everything I’ve got." Ferrari’s team principal Frederic Vasseur, speaking after the session, explained the rationale behind the altered approach: "We made some significant changes to the set‑up and to our approach, and they paid off today.
George has been very strong since the first lap of FP1, but Charles did a good job to put the car on the front row. On Lewis’ side, it was difficult to get a tow because the different run plans made it complicated to synchronise with the other cars. He also brushed the wall on his first lap in Q3, which compromised that attempt, but he recovered well to finish sixth despite not having a tow on his final lap." Leclerc, who celebrated Ferrari’s first front‑row start since the Hungarian Grand Prix, praised his own lap but admitted the gap to Russell was larger than anticipated.
"Honestly, it was quite a good lap," he said. "Lewis was three‑four seconds ahead, and I managed a solid lap at the end. But when I see the gap to George, maybe the lap wasn’t good enough." Despite the shortfall, Leclerc remained optimistic about the race, citing the strong long‑run pace the team displayed in practice. "We’ll try, and we’ll do our best," he affirmed.
"Whether that will be enough, only time will tell. But we know we have a good race car, often better in the race than in qualifying, and I hope that will be the case again this weekend." Vasseur added that tyre degradation at the Baku circuit is expected to be minimal, making track position especially valuable. "We are in a position to score good points with both cars, even if Baku is always unpredictable," he said.
Looking ahead, the weekend schedule is packed. The F2 Feature Race is set for Saturday at 7:55 a.m., followed by the Grand Prix build‑up at 10:30 a.m.
The main race kicks off at noon, with the chequered flag expected around 2 p.m., after which post‑race analysis and commentary will be broadcast. All sessions will be streamed live on Sky Sports F1 via the NOW platform, with the flexibility of a no‑contract subscription. In summary, Hamilton’s frustration stems from Ferrari’s decision to alter their qualifying run plan at the last moment, a move that deprived him of the aerodynamic assistance needed to challenge the Mercedes‑powered cars on Baku’s long straight. While Ferrari secured a front‑row start for Leclerc, the gap to the pole‑sitter highlights the ongoing performance disparity between the teams.
Both drivers acknowledge the challenges ahead, but remain determined to extract the maximum from their machines in what promises to be an unpredictable and exciting race weekend.