Hamilton reckons Ferrari ‘still a chunk off’ despite major Barcelona upgrade package

Lewis Hamilton has given his take on Ferrari’s early level of performance at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, believing that the team remain “quite a chunk off” the front of the pack, despite bringing a host of upgrades to the track.

Hamilton, who arrived in Spain off the back of hard-fought P2 finishes in Canada and Monaco, started Friday on the pit wall as he watched Ferrari Driver Academy member and F2 racer Dino Beganovic get some valuable laps on the board.

When he took to the wheel in FP2, the seven-time World Champion wound up ninth fastest, 1.2 seconds away from Lando Norris’ benchmark, having reported “something wrong” with the rear of the car, while team mate Charles Leclerc was 0.373s off the pace in fourth.

Reflecting on his shorter day in the cockpit, Hamilton said: “I only had [FP2], so it was an unusual one, in the sense that I think the majority of the drivers – maybe not Lando – that missed the first session were quite far off their team mates in the second session.

“Because it’s so hot, the tyres only last one lap, so it’s tricky to get into [FP2] and only have two laps, basically. I don’t really know what I’m going to do with the car, and hopefully tomorrow we’ll have a better day.”

Pressed on Ferrari’s upgrades, which include changes to the front wing, floor, sidepods and diffuser, Hamilton added: “I have zero feel of it, so I have no idea where… We’re obviously not quick…

“Charles has obviously had two sessions, and I think he’s four-tenths or something off the McLarens and the Mercedes, so clearly we’re quite a chunk off still, but hopefully tomorrow we can try and close the gap a bit.”

Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur, meanwhile, described the day as “odd” for everyone and “good” overall for the Scuderia, as he touched on the developments added to the SF-26 this weekend.

“We know Barcelona, it’s very difficult to put a lap together in these conditions, but it’s the same for everybody,” he said. “We had a lot of new elements on the car, new package, different components, which meant we had a lot of back-to-back to do.

“I think it will be difficult in terms of tyre degradation. We saw today with all the components that the deg is there, and it’s important. We’ll put more rubber on the track and it will probably reduce a little bit, but it will be difficult, for sure.”

As for Leclerc’s brakes, following changes made post-Monaco, Vasseur summed up: “It went well. For sure, he needed a couple of laps to accommodate, but he did well. At the end it was okay, no issue.”