Lewis Hamilton sounded surprisingly upbeat after qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Hamilton was a long way off teammate Charles Leclerc once again as he took P7.

However, the 40-year-old had said on Friday that he wasn’t sure whether he’d make the top 10. By that measure, Saturday evening was a success.

Hamilton told Sky Sports afterwards that he was ‘grateful’ to reach Q3. He vowed to ‘keep pushing’ as he admitted his ongoing struggle to gel with the Ferrari over a single lap.

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Half a second behind Leclerc, Hamilton was also outqualified by Carlos Sainz – the driver he replaced at Ferrari. Sainz, driving for midfield team Williams, has been quicker at back-to-back races.

Lewis Hamilton was further behind Charles Leclerc than Oliver Bearman was on his Ferrari debut

12 months ago, Oliver Bearman made his debut for Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Fred Vasseur had to call up the academy driver from F2 after Sainz withdrew with appendicitis.

Bearman jumped into the car on Saturday morning, which meant he only had an hour of practice. He proceeded to qualify P11 before finishing the race in seventh.

That performance earned him the driver of the day award as he held off Hamilton and Lando Norris in the closing stages. Bearman was disappointed not to make Q3, but a 0.530s margin to Leclerc was creditable.

Remarkably, Hamilton was further behind Leclerc on Saturday (0.531s) than the teenage debutant was in 2024. There was only a thousandth of a second in it, but it’s still a somewhat embarrassing comparison for a driver of his calibre.

He had far more experience in the car – four full weekends, winter testing and three practice sessions. Bearman was at the time the third-youngest F1 driver ever.

While he qualified higher up the grid than his compatriot, this underlines the chasm between Hamilton and Leclerc.

Martin Brundle delivers brutal verdict to Lewis Hamilton fans at Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Ferrari have ‘never stopped’ watching Bearman at Haas, and will be impressed by what they’ve seen so far. After a nightmare Australia debut, he’s scored points in three straight races.

Bearman was only 15th on that Saturday, but that reflects the limitations of the Haas car. He thrashed teammate Esteban Ocon (19th) by half a second in Q1.

The 19-year-old is a contender to replace Hamilton one day given that he’s a member of the Ferrari driver academy. Much like Leclerc at Sauber in 2018, he’s auditioning in the midfield.

Ferrari’s current line-up is locked in for at least two years. Martin Brundle delivered a brutal verdict on Hamilton on Saturday, claiming that he’s getting further away from where he needs to be, but Vasseur is still confident the team can unlock his legendary abilities.