Hamilton pins Ferrari hopes on wet Canadian GP: ‘I'm hoping it is’

The seven-time world champion ultimately missed out on Oscar Piastri’s second-row spot by less than a tenth of a second, with Mercedes once again delivering when it mattered most in the closing stages as both drivers underlined the technical superiority of the W17 around Montreal.

Asked by GPBlog to describe how the car had felt and to sum up his qualifying session, Hamilton admitted he has been pleased with the progress Ferrari made throughout qualifying after introducing several setup changes. The Brit also revealed he believed there was more performance left on the table, explaining that missing out on completing his final lap likely cost him the chance of securing an even stronger result.

Asked which areas of the car now allow him to feel more confident when pushing, the Briton added: “It's brakes, it's corner entry stability, and just with the setup that I've migrated to, I'm much, much happier to attack the car.”

Asked about tomorrow’s race, with rain potentially set to play a major role, Hamilton admitted he's hopeful the wet conditions could help Ferrari close the gap to the cars ahead and potentially give the Scuderia a better opportunity to fight at the front: “I'm hoping it is. I hope that levels us out to the guys ahead and maybe gives us a bit of a chance to fight with them.”

Finally, when asked about the biggest challenges in wet conditions, Hamilton pointed to the current wet tyres, admitting drivers still struggle with compounds that, in his view, do not work properly following the changes made to tyre blankets and blanket temperatures. The Briton also revealed he had personally pushed for adjustments during testing, though he believes the issue is still far from fully resolved.

Qualifying was not entirely straightforward for the seven-time world champion, however, as Hamilton ended up under investigation after an alleged impeding incident involving Pierre Gasly at Turn 8 during the session. The Ferrari driver was far from the only one to attract the attention of the stewards in Montreal, with Sergio Perez also being investigated over an alleged breach of the International Sporting Code and Race Director’s notes, while Lance Stroll was summoned following a suspected unsafe release.