FORMULA 1 F1 CALENDAR 2026 LEWIS HAMILTON MOTOGP RUMOURS

Hamilton highlights Mercedes could be even more dominant thanks to another 'mode'

Photo: Race Pictures

F1 News

09:43, 14 Mar

Updated: 09:46, 14 Mar

1 Comments

byKada Sarkozi

Lewis Hamilton finished third in Qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion is convinced Mercedes has more left in the tank.

"Maybe they didn't turn the mode they had on. I don't know."

- Lewis Hamilton

As in Sprint Qualifying, Hamilton finished ahead of his teammate in Saturday's second session as well.

"It was a very tricky session for me. It wasn't as good as Spring Qualifying," Hamilton began.

"Not as smooth. Lots of snaps. I think with the wind it was really tricky, with the balance that I had. I need to look into that. Quite a lot of mistakes, I had a big snap on the first Q3 lap, then the last lap was okay.

"I think it definitely could have been quite a bit better I think if I'd been able to get into rhythm. There's a couple of tenths missing probably, but I'm just grateful to be up here," the Ferrari driver explained.

Photo: Race Pictures

Looking ahead, he expects Mercedes to have a bit more left in the tank in terms of qualifying.

"It's hard to know what that (the gap) is. Maybe they didn't turn the mode they had on. I don't know.

"So we'll take it with a pinch of salt. But I do think over the break we progressed with some changes that we made, some things we learned in the sprint race.

"So I'm grateful that over the break, we got a little bit closer. But whether or not that's real true pace, we'll see obviously when we get to the next race in terms of qualifying."

Hamilton praises Antonelli

The Briton also had some kind words for the youngest Grand Prix pole sitter in Formula 1's history.

"I have to say a big congratulations to this big lad here, to Kimi. It's an amazing achievement to come into, he took my seat and he hit it hard from the get-go.

"It's just really great to see him progressing and he really deserves it. A great record. It's going to take a while for someone to ever get close to that one."