Future Ferrari teammates Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had a close call at the Qatar GP Sprint race after escaping without any damage.
Charles Leclerc with Lewis Hamilton (images via IMAGO and screenshot via X/FormulaDirecta)
With George Russell starting on the front row for the Sprint race, this laid the balance on Lewis Hamilton to prove his worth as he salvaged only to qualify P7 for the Sprint.
He subsequently moved up to P5 during the first lap, ahead of Charles Leclerc, but later had a flashpoint with the Monegasque as they both banged wheels heading into turn one, on lap 13.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are slated to become teammates at Maranello after next week’s final race in Abu Dhabi. This might affect the current stable intra-team dynamics that reign at Ferrari. Moreover, the Qatar Gp Sprint race could be deemed the first full clash between the two drivers, as Leclerc seemed to be on a mission to regain his top-five position at any cost.
This led to the 27-year-old lunging up the inside of Hamilton into turn one. This seemingly caught the seven-time champion a bit off guard, and the duo later clashed but escaped with no damage to their respective cars.
💥 ¡IMPRESIONANTE adelantamiento de Charles a Lewis Hamilton, su futuro compañero de equipo!#F1 #F1Sprint #QatarGP 🇶🇦 pic.twitter.com/HFOcUQPVgW
— Fórmula Directa (@FormulaDirecta) November 30, 2024
On the other hand, Leclerc’s urgency to get the move done could be down to helping Ferrari in the constructors’ championship. As McLaren is expected to dominate the weekend, every additional point may help them in their title race.
Lewis Hamilton unhappy with Mercedes W15 at Qatar GP
Though finishing making up a position when the chequered flag fell was not bad at all, Hamilton could have finished a bit higher, similar to George Russell if he had not been stuck in a DRS train like his rivals. This hurdled him throughout the race with the added caveat of the W15 having a lively rear-end when taking high-speed corners.
The 39-year-old claimed that he was suffering from oversteer during the course of the lap, which was also observed on Max Verstappen‘s onboard during the opening lap.
I’m getting lots of snaps.
Lewis Hamilton said over the radio
📻 | Lewis Hamilton: “I’m getting lots of snaps …”
📻 | Bono: “Stand by, we’ll have a look.”
— deni (@fiagirly) November 30, 2024
Despite the mediocre performance in the Sprint race, major points are rewarded during the Grand Prix. Thus, drivers would be hoping to maximize the result of the qualifying in order to get themselves in the prime position to lead the race heading into turn one and have an upper hand over the rest of the field
