18/04/2025 22:40
Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he is struggling for "consistency"
at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, on the opening day of the Saudi
Arabian Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion endured a Friday
to forget after ending second practice down in 13th on the
timesheets. Hamilton was 1.2s adrift of pacesetter Lando Norris
and an alarming eight-tenths slower than Ferrari team-mate Charles
Leclerc, who managed to end second practice in fourth. Leclerc
again had a clear advantage over the 105-time race winner, who
struggled to perform across an entire lap. Hamilton also escaped
punishment for impeding Alex Albon who took avoiding action at
high-speed, with it not having been deemed as a dangerous
incident. With the exception of his sprint pole and victory in
China, it has been a difficult start to the season for Hamilton who
has scored just 25 points. Remarkably, the Briton has only claimed
one podium in Saudi Arabia, and that was in 2021 when he defeated
Max Verstappen in a ferocious battle to claim victory. A win or
even a podium looks very unlikely, with Hamilton recognising that
his side of the Ferrari garage has work to do. "It was a
challenging day," said Hamilton. "We're still chasing the right
balance between the front and rear axles, and I'm struggling a bit
with consistency across the lap at this stage. "There's work to do
tonight, but the team's fully focused and we'll keep pushing to
find the improvements we need."
