Hamilton gives reasons for double free practice spin in Zandvoort Friday
Lewis Hamilton’s comments at the end of the first day on track at Zandvoort, with the seven-time world champion setting the sixth-fastest time of the day, ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc.
On a day when Ferrari failed to stand out at the sharp end of the timesheets, Lewis Hamilton could at least take satisfaction in finishing ahead of Charles Leclerc. The seven-time world champion ended the day sixth, while the Monegasque driver had to settle for ninth.
It was still a significant gap for the British driver, eight tenths down on Lando Norris and a McLaren that once again looked like the clear car to beat at Zandvoort.
Hamilton sees positives after opening day at Zandvoort
''It's not been the worst of days,'' Hamilton said at the end of Friday. ''I think we were making progress. We were obviously quite far off in FP1. It was a lot further than normal.''
He then added: ''The first lap felt pretty decent getting back, but then it had been a bit of a challenge from then.''
''We made some progress over lunch, so I think we progress but still quite a chunk off so we've got some work to do overnight.''
Despite the decent final result, Hamilton was involuntarily the protagonist of two spins during the session. The Briton explained what caused them: ''I think the first one was just pushing too much.''
''I think ultimately also ride quality is not where we'd want it. The car's quite unpredictable.''
''The second one, I touched the grass and had a snap and that was that. I was pushing, which is positive. Hopefully no more.''
Asked what he can realistically aim for in tomorrow’s qualifying, Hamilton concluded: ''I think before my spin, I was around a tenth up and then I had another tenth and a half to find in the last corner, so I’ve got to make some improvements there.''
''I think we’ve also got some work to do with the setup, and for some reason we’re just where we are pace-wise. I don’t really know how we’re going to find eight tenths, but we’ll try our best.''
