Lewis Hamilton voiced his irritation with Ferrari’s tactics during the final qualifying segment (Q3) after he secured sixth place for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, remarking that "they altered the strategy." The British driver questioned why Ferrari opted for a single, multi‑lap run at the very end of the knockout phase instead of sending Charles Leclerc out earlier for the opening laps, a move that had been adopted by Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Hamilton explained that his final laps suffered because he lacked a slipstream – commonly referred to as a "tow" – from a car ahead, a factor that is crucial for maximizing straight‑line speed along Baku’s exceptionally long main straight.
In contrast, Leclerc benefited from a tow provided by Hamilton, as the Monegasque driver was scheduled to run second in the last qualifying session. Leclerc’s effort earned him a second‑place start behind the dominant Mercedes driver George Russell, who claimed pole with a season‑best advantage of eight‑tenths of a second.
Reflecting on his own qualifying performance, Hamilton told Sky Sports F1: "It was another rather poor qualifying for me. It wasn’t for lack of trying. Q1 and Q2 were fairly decent – Q1 was actually quite solid, Q2 gave us a bit more trouble, and then in 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 to give me a tow, which cost me a significant amount of time. In any case we couldn’t match the Mercedes.
Their straight‑line speed is simply a lot quicker than ours. They performed brilliantly." Hamilton added that three of the five cars ahead of him on the grid – Russell, and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris – all run Mercedes power units, underscoring the challenge he faces on the long Baku straight. "I think it’ll be tough to overtake a Mercedes tomorrow," Hamilton said.
"Keeping up with a Mercedes engine on the straight will be difficult, but I’ll give it everything I’ve got." Ferrari’s team principal Frederic Vasseur, speaking after qualifying, explained the rationale behind the altered approach: "We introduced several major adjustments to the car’s set‑up and to our overall strategy, and they paid off today. George has been very strong since the first lap of FP1, and Charles did a great job putting the car on the front row. As for Lewis, it was hard for him to get a tow because the differing run plans made it tricky to synchronize 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 secured Ferrari’s first front‑row start since the Hungarian Grand Prix in July, expressed satisfaction with his lap time but admitted the gap to Russell was larger than expected, especially after a demanding Thursday. "Honestly, it was a pretty good lap," he said.
"Lewis was three‑four seconds ahead, and I managed a solid lap at the end. But when I look at the gap to George, maybe the lap wasn’t good enough." Despite the gap, Leclerc remained optimistic about the race, noting that Ferrari’s car often performs better in race conditions than in qualifying. "We’ll try and do our best," he said. "Whether that will be enough, only time will tell.
But we know we have a good race car, often stronger in the race than in qualifying, and I hope that will be the case again this weekend." Vasseur added that tyre degradation in Baku is expected to be minimal, which could make track position especially valuable. "We are in a position to score solid points with both cars, even though Baku is always unpredictable," he said.
The lack of podium finishes over the past four races has put additional pressure on Ferrari to capitalize on any opportunity. The weekend schedule is packed: the F2 Feature Race kicks off at 7:55 am, followed by the Grand Prix build‑up at 10:30 am, the main race at 12:00 pm, the chequered‑flag reaction at 2:00 pm, and a post‑race analysis segment at 3:00 pm, all broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and streamed via NOW with a flexible, no‑contract subscription.
As the 2026 Formula 1 season continues, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix promises a thrilling triple‑header of action, with Hamilton determined to extract maximum performance from his Mercedes despite the evident advantage of the Mercedes‑powered rivals ahead of him on the grid.