The Spanish GP was another weekend to forget for Lewis Hamilton’s maiden season with Ferrari. With the seven-time champion struggling to get comfortable behind the wheel of the SF-25.
The triple header has been a mixed bag for Ferrari. Imola came with good surprises, with Hamilton taking P4 at Ferrari’s home Grand Prix. Monaco was a strong weekend for Hamilton in the SF-25, but a grid penalty pushed him from contention for a podium.
Coming into Spain, hopes were tempered but very much alive. The balance was still a struggle for both drivers, but Hamilton managed to qualify ahead of teammate for only the second time excluding sprint races.
Race struggles
However, come race day, Hamilton told a different story. He struggled with balance and overall balance. He ended the race in P6 after being overtaken by Nico Hülkenberg’s Sauber.
Hamilton told F1 after the race, “Today was definitely not what I was hoping for. I felt good going into the race, after a pretty good qualifying and the car performing better. But the balance felt off throughout the race, and we lacked pace from the start.”
When he was asked what the issue was, he admitted he had no idea. He said, “We don’t have an explanation for it, so we’ll have to go away and look into the data and any underlying issues. Congratulations to Charles, he did a great job and fully deserved the podium.”
The second stint on the medium tyres was where Hamilton’s pace disappeared. He confirmed this mysterious lack of pace, “just didn’t have any speed at the end.”
When he was asked about the triple header as a whole, he confessed he’s learnt “absolutely nothing” even though results wise, it feels as though Ferrari are starting to take steps forward.
The F1 schedule allows both Ferrari and Hamilton a week break before going to Canada. Last year, the Canadian Grand Prix was a weekend to forget for Ferrari.
But Hamilton has seven wins around the track and will be hoping to recreate one of those performances.
