A third-row start for the final race
FP3
The last practice session was conducted in significantly hotter conditions, making it less representative of the heat and track layout expected for qualifying and the race. At first, Charles and Lewis felt the balance of the car was decent.
Midway through FP3, Lewis pushed hard into turn 9 and the rear of his car stepped out, causing a crash into the barriers.
Q1
The crew did an excellent job repairing Lewis’s car so he could line up for qualifying.
Both drivers began on Medium tyres, switching to Softs for their later runs.
Q1 was extremely tight, with cars separated by only a few hundredths of a second, and Lewis narrowly missed advancing.
Q2
Track evolution progressed rapidly through the session.
With two fresh sets of Soft tyres, Charles posted the sixth-fastest time and advanced to Q3.
Q3
- Charles delivered solid laps, optimising the remaining new Soft sets to secure fifth on the grid in Q3, placing him on the third row.
Charles Leclerc #16
I’m pleased with my Q3 lap and feel there wasn’t much more to extract today. The team has done a strong job turning the weekend around, with setup changes between FP2 and FP3 paying off. Looking ahead to the race, I’m hopeful the adjustments will help us gain position. We can’t overestimate expectations since the cars ahead remain fast. The goal is to maximize the result tomorrow, and I’ll push hard at the start to help our team finish the season on a high—perhaps with a final podium for everyone involved.
Lewis Hamilton #44
Today’s result wasn’t the target we had in mind. The team did a fantastic job preparing the car after FP3 to be ready for qualifying, but a mistake in the last sector proved costly. I know this track well and will strive for a stronger showing tomorrow.
Fred Vasseur - Team Principal
Overall, we’re happy with Charles’s performance given the rough Friday sessions and the aggressive setup decisions we made today, which paid off. If practice had been smoother, a higher position could have been within reach, but that’s part of racing. Tomorrow will reveal our true pace. For Lewis, the absence of FP1 due to him giving up his seat to Arthur, plus the FP3 crash, made it tough to recover when two-tenths separated P4 and P18. Performance can’t hinge on a single session. The focus now is on delivering the best possible result to finish the season strongly.
