Lewis Hamilton‘s Ferrari hopes: Is he closing the gap to Leclerc?
Lewis Hamilton hasn’t been happy with his performances this season – but there are signs things might be turning around.
The British driver’s blockbuster move to Ferrari made waves across the sport. At 40, he’s taking on one of F1’s most pressure-cooker seats alongside Charles Leclerc, widely regarded as one of the quickest drivers in qualifying.
Let’s be honest – age doesn’t do F1 drivers any favors in qualifying. Reactions slow down a bit, those tiny fractions of a second start slipping away, and younger drivers pounce.
Even Max Verstappen acknowledges Leclerc’s raw speed. When asked about the best qualifier besides himself, Verstappen didn’t hesitate: “It’s hard, but I think currently… I have always Charles Leclerc considered a very good driver in qualifying.”
So how’s Hamilton stacking up? Across 19 qualifying sessions (16 regular and 3 sprint), Leclerc has outpaced him 14 times.
The average gap stands at 0.174 seconds in Leclerc’s favor.
Hamilton’s had some tough moments too, with early eliminations in Miami, Spa, and Hungary where he couldn’t even reach the final qualifying session.
“I’m useless”: Hamilton hits rock bottom
After qualifying a disappointing 12th in Hungary, Hamilton didn’t mince words about his performance. He called himself “useless.”
This Q2 exit was particularly crushing as it marked the third straight race where he missed the final qualifying session.
What made it worse was that Hamilton had actually been building momentum in the weeks before Spa:
SessionLeclercHamiltonSpa (SQ1)1:42.763+0.645Spa (Q1)1:41.635+0.304Hungaroring (Q2)1:15.455+0.247AVG-+0.399
During this rough patch, Hamilton was nearly four tenths behind on average – a lifetime in F1 terms.
Hamilton finds his groove mid-season
But it hasn’t been all doom and gloom. Hamilton grabbed pole for the Sprint race in China and outqualified Leclerc again in the main session.
After Monaco (where Leclerc beat him by three tenths), Hamilton started finding his form.
From Spain to Silverstone, he actually outpaced Leclerc in three out of four races. Even in Austria when he trailed, it was by just 0.090 seconds – barely a blink.
SessionLeclercHamiltonBarcelona+0.0861:12.045Montreal+0.1561:11.526Spielberg1:04.492+0.090Silverstone+0.0261:25.095AVG+0.045-
During this hot streak, Hamilton was faster by an average of 0.045 seconds. That’s the Hamilton we’re used to seeing.
Back in the fight after summer break
The summer break seemed to hit the reset button for Hamilton. At Zandvoort, he was right on Leclerc’s tail throughout Q1 and Q2, even beating him on several attempts before just falling short in the final run.
Monza told a similar story – close, but not quite there.
SessionLeclercHamiltonZandvoort1:09.390+0.050Monza1:09.007+0.117
The Dutch Grand Prix was particularly encouraging. Hamilton was actually quicker than Leclerc on multiple attempts in the early sessions.
These aren’t headline-grabbing results, but they matter. They show Hamilton is finding his feet and can push Leclerc to the limit again.
What’s next for Hamilton?
Hamilton’s Ferrari chapter is just beginning. After more than a decade at Mercedes, nobody expected a seamless transition.
Going up against one of F1’s qualifying masters, he’s shown flashes of his old brilliance. Now he needs consistency – the kind that helped him secure seven world championships.
With the massive 2026 regulation changes on the horizon, Hamilton isn’t just trying to beat Leclerc. He’s positioning himself for one more title shot.
For now, Leclerc has the upper hand on Saturdays. But Hamilton isn’t done yet. He’s shown he can match Leclerc’s pace – he just needs to find that championship-winning consistency again.
Can he do it? The final races of 2024 might give us the answer.
