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 Components 1 world champion, who certified fifth, had initially appeared poised for a stronger outcome, however a mix of tyre degradation, intra-team technique, and late-race setbacks finally value him a top-five end.
Initially, Hamilton made a promising transfer into fourth place, showcasing sturdy early tempo. Nonetheless, his momentum started to fade as his delicate tyres rapidly degraded, leaving him susceptible to stress from teammate Charles Leclerc. Ferrari made the decision to swap positions between their drivers, a choice reportedly influenced by Leclerc’s pre-race issues about tyre longevity and the affect of operating 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 Automotive triggered by Andrea Kimi Antonelli gave Hamilton a short lived enhance, permitting him to achieve 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.
Put up-race, Hamilton’s personal radio messages to his engineer Riccardo Adami appeared to align with Leclerc’s personal frustrations, which had been expressed in the course of 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 in the course of 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 result of a scarcity of grip from the delicate compound tyres. His complaints intensified within the laps main as much as the Security Automotive, the place he reported a major 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 in the course of the 66-lap contest. The outcome leaves him 23 factors behind Leclerc within the Drivers’ Championship standings, elevating questions on his means to constantly 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 in the course of the remaining stint, previous to the deployment of the Security Automotive. 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 outcome didn’t replicate the complete image of the Briton’s efficiency.
The Frenchman said that if folks needed 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 Components 1 world champion Nico Rosberg additionally weighed in on the staff orders, suggesting that Ferrari had positioned Lewis Hamilton in a “horrible” scenario by requiring him to present technique to Leclerc within the early phases of the Grand Prix. In line with Rosberg, such selections can injury 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 replicate 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 stress is mounting for each the Italian aspect and the Briton to ship extra cohesive performances within the races forward.
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