Hamilton's most miserable two days in Formula 1

Unlike his teammate Hamilton, Leclerc, capitalising on Ferrari’s upgrades, delivered a stellar lap to finish just 0.3 seconds off pole, expressing satisfaction: “I’m very happy today. It’s strange to say that because it’s only third, but I did not expect it. We thought we were quite a lot more back. The car felt great, and we put everything together for qualy.”

In stark contrast, Hamilton faced one of his toughest weekends in Formula 1. The seven-time champion, who has won at Spa-Francochamps five times, failed to advance from Q1 for the second day running. His lap was deleted for breaching track limits at Turn 4, dropping him to 16th.

Visibly dejected, Hamilton described the weekend as “pretty bad so far,” reflecting on his P18 in Sprint Qualifying and P15 in the Sprint Race: “It’s turning out to be a pretty bad weekend,” he told reporters in the paddock.

“Tomorrow? I mean, anything can happen here, I think. Yeah… I mean, I have no clue about tomorrow. It’s going to be very hard from where I am. So, definitely a weekend to forget.” Hamilton throwing in the towel, and there is still a day to go!

Despite the setback, later in the Ferrari team report, Hamilton highlighted some positives: “It’s not been a great day, but we got some valuable insight into the new suspension and upgrades during the Sprint. The team made further adjustments ahead of qualifying based on what we learned. Unfortunately, my lap time was deleted for track limits, and I take full responsibility for that."

As a result, the Grand Prix on Sunday will be challenging, with overtaking being quite difficult here, but I’m fully focused on making up ground and fighting for points to reward the hard work everyone’s done back at the factory to bring these updates," added Hamilton.

Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur offered perspective on Hamilton’s struggles: “Lewis was unable to put everything together, but the field is so close, a matter of just hundredths or even thousandths of a second between the cars.

"His pace was good, he was just one place behind Charles, but the track limits put him out, and it is what it is. It’s true that it’s been a tough weekend for him so far and, at this track, you need to build up confidence lap after lap, and with the problems yesterday and today, that was made difficult for him.”

Leclerc’s performance provided a silver lining, with the Monegasque driver optimistic about the team’s progress. “We knew we had something more in the car with the upgrade this weekend, but we still struggled yesterday. That was a really, really good lap.”

Ferrari’s upgrades, including tweaks to the suspension, appeared to pay dividends for Leclerc, though Hamilton struggled to harness their potential.

Looking ahead to Sunday’s race, the unpredictable Spa weather could play a role. Hamilton, despite his pessimism, acknowledged the potential for surprises: “Anything can happen here.”

Ferrari will aim to capitalise on Leclerc’s strong starting position while hoping Hamilton can recover through the field. Despite the challenges, Hamilton’s resilience remains evident, having scored points in every 2025 race so far, including a Sprint win and a near-podium at the previous Grand Prix.

The team’s focus now shifts to maximising points in what promises to be a challenging race as rain is expected over the Ardennes, which will bring with it uncertainty but also opportunity.