Lewis Hamilton’s promising start to the weekend unravelled after Ferrari’s setup changes backfired, leaving him struggling for pace in the Grand Prix before a post-race disqualification sealed his disappointment.
Reflecting on the misjudged adjustments, the seven-time world champion admitted, “I know not to do that again.”
Hamilton’s weekend took a sharp turn after a strong performance in the Sprint race, where he dominated from start to finish. Managing his tyres effectively, he pulled four seconds clear of Oscar Piastri in the closing laps, while Charles Leclerc trailed behind in fifth, 12 seconds adrift.
However, as Ferrari sought further improvements for the SF-25 ahead of Saturday’s qualifying session, both drivers opted for adjustments that ultimately backfired. While McLaren and Mercedes made gains, Ferrari slipped behind, leaving Hamilton and Leclerc on the third row of the grid, around three-tenths off the pace.
Race day struggles and costly disqualification
In the Grand Prix, the Ferrari duo crossed the line in fifth and sixth, with Leclerc ahead of Hamilton. However, both were later disqualified—Leclerc’s car was found to be 1kg under the minimum weight, while Hamilton’s skid block wear exceeded the legal limit.
Even before the disqualification, it had been a challenging race for Hamilton. In a weekend where many struggled with front-left tyre wear, he opted for a two-stop strategy. Unfortunately, it didn’t yield the desired results, as the five drivers ahead of him—Leclerc included—managed to make a one-stop strategy work.
“I’m glad that we tried, I’m glad that we tried something,” he told Sky F1, according to PlanetF1. “I was struggling with performance.
“Basically, we had a pretty decent car in the sprint, and then we made some changes, because we’re trying to move forward and improve the car, and we made it quite a bit worse going into qualifying, and then it was even worse in the race.”
While he acknowledged there were lessons to be learned, Hamilton admitted it was tough to keep pace with the front-runners.
Halmiton: “I know not to do that again”
Although his race strategy played a role, Hamilton pointed to the adjustments made between the Sprint and qualifying as the main culprit.
Dismissing speculation that raising the car’s ride height had been the issue, he explained:
“I don’t know who said that we lifted the car, but no,” Hamilton said. “We made some other changes mostly, as well as that, but not massively, it’s like small amounts.
“But all the pieces together made it quite a bit worse.”
He then revealed that both he and Leclerc had followed a setup change first tested by the Monegasque driver in Bahrain, but in hindsight, it was a mistake.
“Charles tested something in Bahrain, and I hadn’t tested it, but we both went that way, and it was mad,” Hamilton added. “I know not to do that again.”
Chandhok: Pace, not strategy was the issue
Former F1 driver and Sky Sports pundit Karun Chandhok supported Hamilton’s assessment, suggesting that Ferrari’s lack of pace rather than strategy was to blame.
“Formula One is constantly evolving, and you have to react to what the conditions are on the day,” he said, referring to Ferrari’s decision to tweak the setup before qualifying.
He also highlighted the significant differences in track conditions between the Sprint and the Grand Prix.
“Really, the other thing is, yesterday he had free air, he started at the front. His tyres were in the best condition, and he was in imperious form, like the Lewis Hamilton we’ve seen in the past.
“But at no point today did he look like he had any real pace. I don’t think the strategy was the issue there for him. He said himself, he just didn’t have the pace of Charles Leclerc.“
Chandhok dismissed the notion that Ferrari’s strategy was the issue, stating that Hamilton simply lacked the speed to challenge Leclerc.
“Now, other teams might say that flexi wing on the front of Charles’ car may have helped him. Ferrari obviously say no, he was losing, what do they say? 30 points of downforce, which is a significant amount. But yeah, we’ll debate that another day.”
