Hamilton jokes Mercedes didn’t use ‘party mode’ as Ferrari halves gap

Lewis Hamilton jokingly suggested Mercedes didn’t turn on its ‘party mode’ during qualifying at Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton qualified third on the grid behind the Mercedes duo of Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, who once again locked out the front row for the Silver Arrows.

Hamilton ended up the best part of four tenths adrift of Antonelli, who became the youngest driver to claim pole position in F1 history, as he narrowly beat Charles Leclerc in an all-Ferrari row two.

"Firstly, I have to say a big congratulations to Kimi,” Hamilton said. "It’s an amazing achievement.

“He took my seat and he hit it hard from the get-go. So it's really great to see him progressing and he really deserves it and a great record. It's going to take a while for someone to ever get close to that one.”

Ferrari’s deficit to Mercedes was around half of what it was in qualifying at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

“It was a very tricky session for me. It wasn't as good as sprint quali,” Hamilton added. “Not as smooth, lots of snaps. I think with the wind, it was really tricky with the balance that I had. So I need to look into that.

“There was quite a lot of mistakes. I had a big snap on the first Q3 lap and it was quite a bit down. And then the last lap was okay. I think it definitely could have been quite a bit better, I think if I'd been able to get into rhythm.

“So I think there's a couple of tenths missing, probably. But I'm just grateful to be up here.”

Has Mercedes got a 'party mode'? 

After the China sprint race, Hamilton quipped Mercedes’ rapid qualifying pace in the 2026 F1 season is down to a similar “party mode” engine setting that he enjoyed during his time with the team.

Hamilton made another light-hearted reference to the supposed power unit mode during the post-qualifying FIA press conference in Shanghai.

“It's hard to know what that is,” the 41-year-old Briton continued. “Maybe they didn't turn the mode they had on [laughs].

“I don't know. So we'll take it with a pinch of salt. But I do think over the break we progressed with some changes that we made, some things we learned in sprint race.

“I'm grateful that we have eked a little bit closer. But whether or not that's real true pace, we'll see obviously when we get to the next race in terms of qualifying.

“But we're hunting, we’re chasing and I know everyone is geared up to just do everything they can to close that gap.”

Asked if he thinks Ferrari can challenge Mercedes in Sunday’s grand prix, Hamilton replied: "I think it's highly unlikely that we'll be able to beat them in the race.

“In our statistics, they’ve got something between four and six tenths race pace.

“Whether or not we saw that in the first race or not, I think in clear air that they're just above us at the moment. So I don't know.

“Maybe with strategy, maybe something can happen, maybe with the start, maybe there's a way. I definitely need to make sure I don't kill my tyre trying to either keep up with them or keep one behind.

“So I need to drive better tomorrow.”