Lewis Hamilton Annoyed After Spanish Grand Prix as Ferrari Technique and Tyre Points Derail Promising Begin
Lewis Hamilton endured one other irritating weekend with Ferrari, ending sixth within the 2025 Barcelona Grand Prix regardless of ranging from his highest grid place of the season. The seven-time Method 1 world champion, who certified fifth, had initially regarded poised for a stronger consequence, however a mix of tyre degradation, intra-team technique, and late-race setbacks in the end value him a top-five end.
In the beginning, Hamilton made a promising transfer into fourth place, showcasing robust early tempo. Nevertheless, his momentum started to fade as his smooth tyres shortly degraded, leaving him susceptible to strain from teammate Charles Leclerc. Ferrari made the decision to swap positions between their drivers, a call reportedly influenced by Leclerc’s pre-race considerations about tyre longevity and the impression of working in soiled air. The Monegasque had already compromised his qualifying setup in favour of race tempo and was vocal over staff radio about the necessity to keep away from getting caught behind Hamilton.
Whereas a late-race Security Automobile triggered by Andrea Kimi Antonelli gave Hamilton a brief increase, permitting him to realize a few positions, it was short-lived. Nico Hülkenberg managed to overhaul the Ferrari driver shortly after the restart, demoting Hamilton again to sixth and sealing the ultimate place within the prime 5.
Publish-race, Hamilton’s personal radio messages to his engineer Riccardo Adami appeared to align with Leclerc’s personal frustrations, which had been expressed throughout the post-race cool-down room chat. Charles Leclerc had remarked to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri that the automotive’s stability had deteriorated considerably all through the race, describing the modifications as “unbelievable” and obscure. Hamilton, for his half, had expressed ongoing dissatisfaction with the stability of his SF-25 all through the race, notably throughout the center stints, mirroring Charles Leclerc’s expertise.
Earlier within the race, Hamilton made it clear to his staff that he was unable to shut in on George Russell as a consequence of a scarcity of grip from the smooth compound tyres. His complaints intensified within the laps main as much as the Security Automobile, the place he reported a big lack of rear-end stability. Following the race, he repeated these observations to Riccardo Adami, reinforcing the sense of a broader difficulty affecting each Ferraris.
Regardless of working forward of the Monegasque throughout qualifying on the Circuit de Catalunya, Lewis Hamilton was in the end outpaced by his teammate throughout the 66-lap contest. The consequence leaves him 23 factors behind Leclerc within the Drivers’ Championship standings, elevating questions on his skill to persistently extract efficiency from the SF-25.
Ferrari staff principal Frédéric Vasseur addressed Lewis Hamilton’s difficulties in a post-race interview with Sky Sports activities. He acknowledged that Lewis Hamilton had encountered an issue on the automotive throughout the ultimate stint, previous to the deployment of the Security Automobile. Whereas he didn’t specify the character of the difficulty, the French supervisor dismissed any suggestion of controversy, emphasizing that Hamilton had spent a big portion of the race forward of George Russell and that the general consequence didn’t mirror the total image of the Briton’s efficiency.
The Frenchman said that if folks wished to create a story of drama, they may, however insisted it wasn’t justified. He underlined that Hamilton had pushed round 70% of the race in entrance of his former Mercedes teammate and reiterated that the issue solely surfaced late within the race.
Former Method 1 world champion Nico Rosberg additionally weighed in on the staff orders, suggesting that Ferrari had positioned Lewis Hamilton in a “horrible” state of affairs by requiring him to offer technique to Leclerc within the early phases of the Grand Prix. In line with Rosberg, such selections can harm a driver’s confidence and complicate intra-team dynamics, particularly for a driver nonetheless settling into a brand new staff surroundings.
Lewis Hamilton’s struggles in Spain mirror a broader sample of inconsistency that has plagued his debut season at Ferrari. With the Maranello staff nonetheless working to grasp the nuances of its 2025 automotive, and a serious regulation change on the horizon in 2026, the strain is mounting for each the Italian aspect and the Briton to ship extra cohesive performances within the races forward.
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