Engine change comes at the worst possible time for Hamilton: I’d like to be fighting the others

Lewis Hamilton was initially set to take a grid penalty of “only” ten places for a change of internal combustion engine. However, another failure forced Ferrari to change its plans, and the team ultimately decided to replace every power unit component. Lewis therefore completed a few laps in Q1 and Q2 to test the engine, the car and the conditions.

His eventual 11th place in Q2 essentially counts for nothing, as Hamilton will start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid. He was particularly disappointed after Saturday’s running, as both the circuit and the conditions were perfectly suited to the seven-time champion. There has been very little wet running this year, and qualifying was thrilling.

It was therefore a shame that only a handful of the favourites were fighting for the top positions in Q3. “I wanted to drive in the rain. It’s such an amazing track to race in the rain. I wish I could have stayed out and had a bit of a battle with everyone,” Lewis Hamilton told Sky after Saturday’s running.

“But yeah, we had that problem in FP3 and didn’t get any laps there. So it was basically a test practice session for me to try and figure out what the car was like in these conditions just in case tomorrow it was raining,” Lewis added.

Although there was a wait of almost an hour and a half for conditions to improve on Saturday, the cars eventually took to the track on both wet tyres and intermediates. Drivers and fans thus experienced something we had not yet seen this season, and it ultimately made for quite a thrilling spectacle.

“It was a lot of fun out there. It’s always fun, and the rain is very, very tricky. But I had just a lot of fun just sitting in the field, absolutely, and I wish I was still out there battling with the guys,” Hamilton reiterated to F1 TV.

And what are his expectations for Sunday’s race, which Lewis will start from the back of the grid? “It’s going to be really tricky conditions, but I love racing in the rain, so I hope that… I was basically using the qualifying session as testing, making sure the engine is working and making sure the car felt good,” said the seven-time champion.