A devastated Lewis Hamilton demands an investigation as to why their qualifying at the 2025 Emilia Romagna GP fell apart in Q2 when they put on a new set of soft tyres at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.
The Scuderia suffered a shocking double elimination in the second part of qualifying when the Aston Martins kicked both the Brit and Charles Leclerc down to 12th and 11th respectively upon their return to Italian soil.
It is a culmination of their problems faced throughout the ongoing Formula 1 season that has seen them left with an SF-25 car that doesn’t seem to have any redeemable qualities, with more problems arriving each passing week.
For example, this weekend Maranello’s latest product has struggled with the brakes and has left both drivers missing confidence as well as performance when it comes to stopping power as they bleed time away.
Now apparently behind Williams, Aston Martin and Alpine on pace, there is a credible argument that the team are now eighth fastest out of 10; only ahead of Haas and Sauber.
But ultimately, 2025 Emilia Romagna GP qualifying came down to struggles with the tyres leaving both drivers failing to improve as a devastated Hamilton demands a Ferrari investigation into why their speed completely fell away.
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“Wow. Tough one, tough one,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. “Ultimately I feel super gutted, devastated that we weren’t able to get through.
“I really feel like we’ve made so many positive steps this weekend, the car was genuinely feeling better, the balance was really nice. Q2 first run felt decent.
“But the new tyres for some reason we just didn’t have any more grip and couldn’t go any faster. We definitely need to look into that.”
Hamilton predicts tough Ferrari Sunday after 2025 Emilia Romagna GP qualifying
The Imola track is famed for its difficulty to overtake, even throughout previous generations of F1 cars that were smaller in terms of width and length, as well as considerably lighter.
With one DRS zone, the problems only further grow when it comes to making a move stick and that, combined with the long pit lane, often means trying the undercut or gambling on a two-stop strategy isn’t worth it.
That’s why the seven-time world champion predicts a very tough race on Sunday, but stresses he is devoted to trying to find out how he can potentially move forwards to give the Tifosi something to cheer about.
“It’s devastating,” Hamilton continued. “Just to see everyone that’s worked so hard in the garage to be in Italy for the first Italian race for me with Ferrari. Not making to Q3 is definitely bittersweet.
“[The race] it’s all big ifs. It’s a very difficult track to overtake so tomorrow will be hard to progress. We have to figure a way to progress forward. It’s going to be tough.”
