Lewis Hamilton expressed concerns about Ferrari’s performance after he qualified fourth for the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix on March 30, 2024. The seven-time world champion noted that the gap between Ferrari and Mercedes is largely due to a deficiency in power unit performance. Hamilton’s fastest lap during qualifying was over 0.6 seconds slower than that of his former teammate, who secured pole position for Mercedes.
Hamilton believes that while Ferrari’s car handles well in corners, it struggles significantly on the straights. “The car generally felt great, but I think it is on the straights,” Hamilton stated. “It’s a lot of time to be losing. So, yeah, we have a lot of work to do.” He emphasized the need for Ferrari to enhance their power unit, suggesting that they lagged behind Mercedes, which he believes began making advancements earlier than other teams.
In discussing the performance of his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, Hamilton highlighted a specific issue that may have hindered their qualifying speed. Leclerc reported losing approximately 0.5 seconds on the long straight between Turn 13 and Turn 14 due to a suspected battery deployment issue. Despite this setback, Leclerc remains optimistic about Ferrari’s prospects in the sprint race, mentioning their stronger showing in the race compared to qualifying.
“It doesn’t really change the picture from where we are,” Leclerc said. “In the race, we should be relatively a bit stronger than we were now in qualifying. However, Mercedes seems to be still a step ahead.” He pointed out that Mercedes’ power unit appears to extract more performance during qualifying, which has been a challenge for Ferrari.
Ferrari’s decision to not deploy their innovative ‘Macarena’ rear wing during sprint qualifying also raised questions. This wing design features an upper element that rotates through 180 degrees when activated for straight-line mode. Hamilton commented on the decision to revert to Ferrari’s conventional wing design, stating, “I don’t really know why we went back on it. I think we rushed it to get it here, and it was not supposed to be on the cars until race four or five.”
Despite the challenges, Hamilton remains hopeful about Ferrari’s ability to improve. “They did a great job to rush it here. The car was still great, and we’ll work to try and bring it back when it’s ready.” With the sprint race approaching, both drivers are keen to enhance their performance and close the gap to Mercedes.
As the teams prepare for the race, the focus will be on whether Ferrari can address its power unit shortcomings and leverage its handling capabilities to challenge Mercedes effectively. The outcome of the sprint race could provide crucial insights into the competitive dynamics of the season ahead.
