Guenther Steiner Sides With Lewis Hamilton on Ferrari Rivals Hiding Pace in Practice

Lewis Hamilton didn’t buy it when Ferrari’s rivals suddenly found speed in qualifying at the United States Grand Prix, and former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner says he shares the suspicion. Ferrari topped all three practice sessions at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, then qualified only fourth and fifth on October 24. Steiner thinks the other teams keep something in reserve until the clock matters.

Steiner stopped short of calling it sandbagging, but he still pointed at Ferrari’s rivals. Speaking on the F1: Chequered Flag Podcast, he said: “I’ve got the feeling that the other ones, I wouldn’t call it proper sandbagging, but the other ones hold something back before going to qualifying and Ferrari doesn’t.”

Steiner also sees a pattern. “I think all the last races, the Ferrari engine cars in the free practices seem to be always faster than they ended up to be in qualifying,” he said. He didn’t claim proof: “I didn’t go and study the data of it.”

Lewis Hamilton Asks Where the Time Went

Hamilton had good reason to expect more. Charles Leclerc led the first two practice sessions, and Hamilton topped the third with a lap time of 1:34.893, 0.168 seconds clear of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. Then qualifying flipped the order.

Kimi Antonelli took pole for Mercedes with a time of 1:34.035 in the final round. Leclerc finished 0.232 seconds slower in fourth, and Hamilton ended up fifth, 0.276 seconds off the pace. When his race engineer, Carlo Santi, told him where he stood, Lewis Hamilton replied over the radio, “These guys must be turning up for that last Q3 because where did that time go?”

Hamilton told Sky Sports he saw nothing wrong with his lap or his car. “It felt like we were right there in the fight and the car was just as good as… we didn’t make any changes; the car didn’t flip upside down in Q3. It was a really good lap.”

He didn’t let Ferrari off the hook, either. “Ultimately we do lose, I think we are a few tenths off on the straight as we usually are,” Hamilton said. He added that “the power deficit to the Red Bull and Mercedes is still significant.”

One number fits his theory. PlanetF1’s data analysis found Antonelli’s top speed rose by 4 km/h between final practice and Q3. Autosport pointed to a second problem, reporting that Ferrari struggled to get its tires ready for the last run.

Damon Hill Asks Why Ferrari Shows Its Hand Early

Damon Hill wants Ferrari to play the game differently. The 1996 world champion asked why the team lets its speed show so early in the weekend, when high hopes can crash hard once qualifying arrives. “Why show your hand too early?”

Hill says Ferrari could add fuel or turn down its engine in practice and still count on the fact that “we’ve got half a second in our back pocket.” That way, the team wouldn’t raise expectations it can’t meet on Saturday.

Sunday’s result fit Hill’s view of the car, as Leclerc finished second, 13.078 seconds behind Antonelli. Hamilton took fourth after passing Lando Norris on lap 51. Hill pointed to the strength Ferrari showed in the race: “The fact of the matter is, the car in the race was very good, so they got a car that’s kind on the tyres, and it seems to be a good race car.”

Ferrari gets another look at the puzzle at the Mexico City Grand Prix on November 1, where Antonelli needs a ninth-place finish or better to clinch the championship. The lap times from practice will tell one story, and qualifying may tell another.

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