Mark Webber worried about Lewis Hamilton’s confidence after watching ‘brutal’ Belgian Grand Prix onboard footage

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Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton has only failed to finish off the podium at the Belgian Grand Prix twice in his career, aside from the races he’s retired from.

During his debut season, Lewis Hamilton finished fourth, and in 2023, he narrowly missed out on the podium again.

Ferrari would have been hoping that with such a good record, he would finally be able to end his wait to stand on the rostrum in their famous red racing overalls.

Unfortunately, the Belgian Grand Prix has been a disaster up to this point for Hamilton.

In Sprint qualifying, a rare mistake saw him eliminated in the first session, spinning as he entered the bus stop section.

Martin Brundle was concerned about Hamilton after studying him closer during the Sprint Race, where he could only recover to 15th.

Qualifying appeared to start much more positively for Hamilton, as he escaped Q1, only to have his best time deleted and slip down to 16th, leaving him with far more work than he would like for Sunday’s race.

Mark Webber was studying his onboard footage from Saturday’s qualifying session and spotted something that suggests he still doesn’t have full confidence in his car, even with Ferrari’s new rear suspension installed.

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Mark Webber worried after studying Lewis Hamilton’s Belgian Grand Prix onboard footage

Webber was analysing Hamilton’s mistake at Eau Rouge for Channel 4, as he momentarily had all four wheels off the track.

Oscar Piastri was caught out similarly during Sprint qualifying, but had time in the bank to correct his error, whereas Hamilton’s mistake came on his final flying lap.

Looking at Hamilton’s onboard footage, Webber said: “Yeah, it was an odd one. Obviously, at the top of the hill, at Eau Rouge, I mean, he was on the back foot as he acknowledged.

“Actually, if you watch the steering wheel here, he just goes in and out, just a small adjustment.

“He was trying to find his way, keep in mind how low your eyeline is, you can’t see the crest there, like it’s really hard to visually pick up that white line.

“But that’s what’s nailed him, he’s slightly inside that. Is it worth the performance, like we said, again, it’s not.

“But, he’s just made a small misjudgment at the top there, and he’s paid the price.

“As I was going to say there, he’s used two sets [of tyres] in Q1, like, that is tough, tough going for him.

“His level, Ferrari, the other car is on the second row. A brutal day for him.”

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Hamilton has spoken about the stark differences between racing for Mercedes and Ferrari this season.

Ferrari’s different brakes have been harder for Hamilton to adapt to, while the procedures and processes that the team undertake at the factory in Maranello and on race weekends are unique to the Scuderia as well.

A lot has been made of the fact that Hamilton is now working with Riccardo Adami as his race engineer as opposed to Peter Bonnington.

Ted Kravitz has suggested Hamilton might miss Bonnington after hearing the way the seven-time world champion interacted with Adami after his best Q1 time was deleted.

Much has been made of Hamilton and Adami’s relationship this season, with Ferrari’s radio communications at times leaving a lot to be desired.

There was nothing Adami could have done in this situation, but he will be pivotal to Hamilton having a positive race on Sunday, where changeable conditions mean strategy is going to play a crucial role in the 40-year-old converting P16 into something meaningful.