Rival F1 driver told Lewis Hamilton the Ferrari ‘looks so bad’ after chasing him at Qatar Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton finished 17th for Ferrari in the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint on Saturday. Hamilton started from the pit lane and couldn’t make any progress.

Drivers throughout the field found overtaking difficult in Qatar, but Ferrari were fundamentally slow. Charles Leclerc dropped to 13th and couldn’t pass the customer Haas of Oliver Bearman.

Hamilton was aware that points weren’t realistic in a 19-lap race, so he used the session as a chance to experiment ahead of the more lucrative Grand Prix. But both Ferrari drivers agreed that the team went in the wrong direction with their set-up.

That’s why Hamilton couldn’t catch Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and only beat the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto on pure pace.

Pierre Gasly was shocked by how poor the Ferrari looked in Qatar F1 Sprint

Hamilton said the only positive was the ‘weather’ after his SQ1 exit on Friday, but he gave a more detailed assessment following the Sprint. The team now know exactly what not to do in the full-length qualifying session.

But, in one of the most damning statements of the year, Hamilton revealed that Gasly had approached him in parc ferme to criticise the handling of the Ferrari.

Even though he’s driving the slowest car on the grid (Alpine have only scored 22 points all season – 46 fewer than anyone else), Gasly did not envy Hamilton.

“I guess the positives are we learned something and we tried to test something as well,” he said. “So hopefully that will also benefit Charles in the next session, but it was really, really difficult to drive.

“Even Pierre came up to me afterwards and [said], ‘Wow that looks so bad.'”

Charles Leclerc’s radio causes further damage to Ferrari’s image

Jamie Chadwick says Ferrari have become a midfield team in the final phase of the 2025 season, and so it was noteworthy that they were beaten by eight different constructors on Friday.

Charles Leclerc sounded borderline disinterested over the radio when he reported an illegal overtake from Liam Lawson. He ‘didn’t mind’ if the position was returned.

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Ferrari say they abandoned 2025 development early to prioritise the new regulations, which partly explains why they have lost touch with the top three.

But Martin Brundle isn’t convinced by that explanation, pointing out that all of their rivals have been diverting resources too. Ferrari are approaching their fifth winless season since the start of 2014.