Lewis Hamilton suffered a second consecutive Q2 exit for Ferrari, whilst Charles Leclerc joined him in failing to make the top 10 in Imola.
A “devastated” Lewis Hamilton made an alarming Max Verstappen comparison after his shock qualifying exit, that Ferrari “can’t match” the Dutchman through the fast opening corners.
Both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc suffered an embarrassing Q2 exit in qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and will start in 11th and 12th, to the disappointment of the drivers and the Tifosi.
Hamilton had been hopeful of making it to the final part of qualifying, something he failed to do for the first time as a Ferrari driver in Miami.
Unfortunately, the Maranello-based outfit struggled for outright pace, with the C6 tyres having not worked for the seven-time world champion.
When asked by RacingNews365 for his feelings after qualifying, Hamilton answered: “Yeah, definitely, feel devastated.
“I feel just gutted I guess, because the car was generally feeling really good. I honestly felt like the car with the setup was just right, the brakes were working.
“Everything was kind of in place, and we just can’t go quicker. If you look how quick Max is going through Turn 2 and 3, we just can’t match it. And when we put that new soft on at the end, for some reason, it just didn’t come alive.”
The expectation on Hamilton and Ferrari is significant this weekend, with the team having sold out sections of the grandstands around the circuit.
Unfortunately, Hamilton is wary that the SF-25 is missing considerable lap time compared to its rivals.
“We’ve got a whole massive crowd here. I think it’s sold out or something for tomorrow,” added Hamilton.
“As I said, I just, I really thought we were going to be getting through, I thought the cars alive, and watching these guys doing 14.7s I mean, we could just get to 15.7. It’s a lot of time missing.”
