Hamilton Disappointed After 12th in Baku Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had a tough qualifying session in Baku, with Hamilton finishing 12th and Leclerc 10th after a crash. Find out what went wrong.

“I’ve been struggling massively. Normally, I come to Baku and everything flows naturally, but this year...”

Lewis Hamilton's qualifying session at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was marked by frustration and disappointment. Despite showing promising pace in practice, Hamilton was knocked out in Q2, citing a tyre strategy misstep by Ferrari. He had lost a set of medium tyres in FP2 due to the team's run plan, which put him at a disadvantage. Hamilton wanted to switch to fresh tyres, but Ferrari denied his request, citing that the warm-up lap was too long, and they ran out of time and fuel.

Hamilton's Thoughts on the Situation

“I wanted to do another lap, but I didn’t have the fuel. They told me the warm-up lap was too long or something like that, so we ran out of time and out of fuel, so not great.”

“Honestly, I’m so disappointed. Yesterday the car was feeling good, today we went in a direction that on paper seemed right, but we didn’t have the right tyres. Our pace was strong. We were progressing, I was really feeling good, I didn’t make any mistakes.”

Ferrari's Tyre Strategy

Ferrari's decision to put Hamilton on the C6 soft tyres, while teammate Charles Leclerc ran on the C5 mediums, proved costly. The C6s were vulnerable to temperature spikes, and Hamilton struggled to bring them up to temperature. Leclerc, on the other hand, managed to progress to Q3 but crashed out, leaving him in 10th place.

“Everyone ahead of me basically had the medium tire on, but I lost a medium tire in FP2 due to our run plan schedule...”

“I’m obviously so disappointed,” Hamilton told Sky Sports television.

“Our pace had been good. We’d been progressing, I was feeling really on it, didn’t make any mistakes... it was just that we didn’t have the right tyre on at the end,” added the 40-year-old.

“There’s been lots of positives from this weekend. I’ve really felt on it. I honestly thought I was going to be shooting for pole today, so it’s kind of a bit of a shock.”

Lewis Hamilton expressed his disappointment after qualifying 12th for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, a stark contrast to his promising performance in Friday's practice sessions. The seven-time world champion had been optimistic about fighting for pole position but was left underwhelmed by the qualifying results. “I'm obviously so disappointed,” Hamilton told Sky Sports television, attributing his poor performance to strategic decisions regarding tire allocation.

Hamilton's struggles stemmed from losing a set of medium tires in practice, which limited his options during qualifying. His rivals, meanwhile, opted for the medium tire compound, which seemed to hold up better in the changing conditions. “Everyone ahead of me basically had the medium tire on, but I lost a medium tire in FP2 due to our run plan schedule, and that put me on the back foot,” Hamilton explained.

Despite the setback, Hamilton remains hopeful about the race, citing Ferrari's strong pace in FP2 and the potential for strategic maneuvering during the event. “We've got good straight-line speed, and so much can happen here with safety cars. Strategy can really come into play,” he said, expressing his determination to climb through the field and secure a podium finish.

Hamilton's teammate, Charles Leclerc, also had a tough qualifying session, finishing 10th after crashing out of Q3. Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur expressed frustration with the team's performance, acknowledging that they struggled to put everything together. The team's straight-line speed and potential for strategic gains will be crucial in determining their success in Sunday's race.

Charles Leclerc, who had qualified on pole at the Baku city circuit for the past four seasons, had a disappointing qualifying session, crashing out of Q3 and ending up 10th. Leclerc acknowledged Hamilton's strong pace, saying, “I think Lewis was a lot more on the pace straight away and more consistent than I’ve been during the weekend.” This admission highlights Leclerc's struggles to match Hamilton's performance, despite his usual dominance at the circuit.

“I’ve been struggling massively. Normally, I come to Baku and everything flows naturally, but this year, unfortunately, it wasn’t the case.”

Look at that starting grid! 👀

Here's how they'll line up for Sunday's race in Baku#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/tUUc0NNNkM

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 20, 2025

Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur said the team felt “a lot of frustration.”

“We struggled to put everything together. Charles had decent pace and was doing a good job, but then he touched the wall,” said the Frenchman.

“I think he was caught out by a gust of wind between the buildings and in this situation, it’s easy to make a mistake, especially when conditions change from one lap to the next. He was not the only one today.”