Chandhok worried about Hamilton: 'Qualifying will be a problem at Ferrari'
F1 News
Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok believes that Lewis Hamilton's qualifying form may be a problem when he joins Ferrari in 2025. The seven-time world champion has recently struggled in qualifying, which Chandhok describes as 'bizarre' considering that Hamilton has qualified at the front of the grid 104 times previously in his career. The Sky Sports pundit explained how his form might affect him at Ferrari, as well as suggesting a few things the Italian team can do to help his confidence.
Firstly, Chandhok spoke briefly about Hamilton's move to Ferrari. The early confirmation would've helped Hamilton, he says. "He's made the right choice. The timing of it, you know, I actually think it's been good. You know, he doesn't have this distraction of his future weighing on his mind throughout the season. He's been able to start the season knowing where he's going next and just get on with the job," Chandhok began on the Sky Sports F1 podcast. Hamilton's move to Ferrari was revealed before the 2024 season, so the Brit hasn't had to worry about his options. Hamilton's predecessor, Carlos Sainz, didn't have a drive secured for the 2025 season and, after much deliberation, decided to join James Vowles' Williams project.
Hamilton's qualifying form will be 'massive to take in'
The early confirmation won't be on Hamilton's mind now, Chandhok says. "Unfortunately, the qualifying pace has been a real worry. He's down 23 to 6 to George, including the sprint qualifying. That is massive for drivers to take in with over 100 pole positions, that is massive," he said. It's no secret that the seven-time world champion has struggled to qualify well recently. His last pole position came at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2023. Recently, in Las Vegas, Hamilton qualified in tenth after making unforced errors in Q3. He worked his way back up to second place, but the win was on the cards if he managed to string a good lap together.
Chandhok: 'Hamilton's qualifying form is going to be a problem at Ferrari'
"Personally, I think it's going to be a problem in 2025 unless he can rediscover the qualifying form. I don't know whether John Elkann and Fred Vasseur are worried,
but I think Lewis would be worried because if he qualifies five places behind Leclerc next year, if you're two-tenths off, it can be four or five places. We've seen this year, with George, he's often being a little bit off, and then he's three places behind," Chandhok explained.
Still, he believes that Hamilton's race pace hasn't gone anywhere. "No doubt about it on a Sunday, the magic is still there. We saw it at Silverstone, and we see it in places like Barcelona as well. We've sort of been under the radar, but the magic is still there on a Sunday, but his qualifying form is a real worry," Chandhok stated.
How can Ferrari build Hamilton's confidence?
The former HRT driver believes that the Italian team can help Hamilton settle out and regain some confidence in multiple ways. "The old car testing that they're going to do with their 2022 or 2023 cars to then just go out there and give him loads of new tyre qualifying runs to try and just build his confidence back up because he seems extraordinarily low on confidence when it comes to qualifying, which again is bizarre to see, but it's true. And Ferrari needs to be proactive, I think, in terms of rebuilding." Chandhok concluded.
Hamilton has just one race left with Mercedes in Abu Dhabi this weekend. Despite his recent struggles, he'll be hoping to go out with a bang for the team which he managed to win six drivers titles with.
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