Hamilton towed Leclerc throughout Q3 as Ferrari strategy call leaves him sixth in Baku

Lewis Hamilton qualified sixth at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Friday after a late Ferrari strategy change denied him a slipstream in Q3, leaving him 1.332 seconds behind pole-sitter George Russell — the largest qualifying deficit of his 2026 campaign so far.

Hamilton had outpaced team-mate Charles Leclerc by a tenth in Q1, but the gap reversed sharply across the final two segments, with Leclerc finishing second on the grid while Hamilton slipped 0.257s and then 0.495s further behind with each successive run.

“In Q2 we started struggling even more with the rear tyres,” Hamilton said. “After Q2 they decided to change the run plan and just do one run, which hadn’t foreseen the fact that I would come out with no one ahead of me, and just towing Charles the whole time. I was 25 seconds behind George, so…”

Hamilton identified two compounding problems: an inability to generate heat in his rear tyres throughout the Baku weekend, and the absence of any car ahead to pull him through the long, flat-out sections of the street circuit. In Friday’s FP3 session he had benefited from a tow he estimated was worth “six tenths” — a gain that would theoretically have placed him on the front row.

“It’s literally just not having people up ahead,” he said. “I was weaving to try and save my life, and I still couldn’t get these stupid tyres working. It’s such a pain in the arse.”

Hamilton also clipped the wall gently during his Q3 lap, though he was characteristically measured about the accumulation of setbacks. When qualifying was described as a perfect storm where nothing went right, he replied: “It happens all the time, so I’m used to it.”

Despite Leclerc’s strong result, Hamilton tempered expectations for the race, suggesting Ferrari currently has the third-fastest car. “I think Max [Verstappen] has been quicker all weekend,” he said, adding that overtaking on the Baku street circuit would be difficult regardless of grid position.

Russell’s pole margin of eight tenths over his nearest rival underlined Mercedes’ pace advantage heading into Sunday’s grand prix.