Lewis Hamilton Pissed off 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 Formulation 1 world champion, who certified fifth, had initially regarded poised for a stronger outcome, however a mixture of tyre degradation, intra-team technique, and late-race setbacks finally price him a top-five end.
Initially, Hamilton made a promising transfer into fourth place, showcasing sturdy early tempo. Nevertheless, his momentum started to fade as his delicate tyres shortly degraded, leaving him weak 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 influence of operating in soiled air. The Monegasque had already compromised his qualifying setup in favour of race tempo and was vocal over crew 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 through the post-race cool-down room chat. Charles Leclerc had remarked to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri that the automotive’s steadiness had deteriorated considerably all through the race, describing the adjustments as “unbelievable” and obscure. Hamilton, for his half, had expressed ongoing dissatisfaction with the steadiness of his SF-25 all through the race, significantly through the center stints, mirroring Charles Leclerc’s expertise.
Earlier within the race, Hamilton made it clear to his crew that he was unable to shut in on George Russell on account of an absence of grip from the delicate 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 challenge affecting each Ferraris.
Regardless of operating forward of the Monegasque throughout qualifying on the Circuit de Catalunya, Lewis Hamilton was finally outpaced by his teammate through the 66-lap contest. The outcome 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 crew 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 through the ultimate stint, previous to the deployment of the Security Automobile. Whereas he didn’t specify the character of the problem, 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 outcome didn’t replicate the complete image of the Briton’s efficiency.
The Frenchman said that if folks wished to create a story of drama, they might, 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 Formulation 1 world champion Nico Rosberg additionally weighed in on the crew orders, suggesting that Ferrari had positioned Lewis Hamilton in a “horrible” state of affairs by requiring him to offer strategy to Leclerc within the early phases of the Grand Prix. In accordance with Rosberg, such choices can injury a driver’s confidence and complicate intra-team dynamics, particularly for a driver nonetheless settling into a brand new crew setting.
Lewis Hamilton’s struggles in Spain replicate a broader sample of inconsistency that has plagued his debut season at Ferrari. With the Maranello crew nonetheless working to know the nuances of its 2025 automotive, and a significant 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.