Ferrari Crew Principal Fred Vasseur has confirmed that each Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton encountered technical difficulties within the ultimate phases of the 2025 Formulation 1 Spanish Grand Prix, affecting their performances and ultimate race positions.
Charles Leclerc secured a second consecutive podium on the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona by taking advantage of the chaos that unfolded within the closing laps, whereas his Maranello teammate endured yet one more irritating race, ending sixth regardless of displaying early promise. Beginning because the top-placed Ferrari on the grid, Lewis Hamilton shortly got here beneath strain from his teammate. This led the group to implement a technique swap by lap 9, permitting the Monegasque to maneuver forward.
Lewis Hamilton’s race started to unravel as he struggled with poor rear grip, falling as a lot as 10 seconds behind the leaders. Though he began closing the hole earlier than the deployment of the Security Automobile, his momentum was disrupted. On the penultimate lap, Lewis Hamilton misplaced a place to Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg however regained sixth place after Max Verstappen was penalised. Following the race, the seven-time world champion expressed his disappointment, reportedly describing it as considered one of his worst races. Nevertheless, Frederic Vasseur later clarified that the seven-time Formulation 1 world champion had been coping with a automotive problem that considerably compromised his ultimate stint.
Chatting with media retailers together with ScuderiaFans.com, Frederic Vasseur emphasised that Lewis Hamilton’s post-race feedback shouldn’t be taken at face worth. He identified that emotional reactions instantly after a race are sometimes not absolutely consultant of the state of affairs, and cautioned in opposition to drawing untimely conclusions.
Frederic Vasseur pressured that the British driver had spent round 70 % of the race forward of George Russell and questioned whether or not the Mercedes man had described his personal race as a catastrophe. He then confirmed {that a} technical drawback had affected Hamilton’s automotive earlier than the Security Automobile interval, hampering his efficiency. Regardless of the unsatisfactory outcome, the Frenchman reminded reporters that Hamilton nonetheless accomplished 45 laps forward of his former Mercedes teammate.
Charles Leclerc additionally encountered difficulties late within the race. His lap occasions dropped considerably within the ultimate laps, inserting his podium end in jeopardy till a collision between George Russell and Max Verstappen at Flip 5 helped safe his third-place outcome. Observers, together with Mercedes group boss Toto Wolff, famous that Leclerc’s Ferrari gave the impression to be leaking oil. Nevertheless, Frederic Vasseur dismissed this idea, asserting that the difficulty had no connection to any oil leak.
He additional revealed that Charles Leclerc had been contending with a separate technical fault from the one skilled by Lewis Hamilton. Though Frederic Vasseur didn’t specify the precise nature of the difficulty, he confirmed that it was a minor however impactful drawback that the group remains to be investigating.
Each Ferrari drivers managing totally different car-related issues raises questions concerning the reliability of the SF-25, particularly because the group continues its pursuit of Pink Bull and McLaren within the Constructors’ Championship. Whereas Charles Leclerc managed to salvage a robust outcome beneath strain, Lewis Hamilton’s ongoing struggles with adaptation and automotive efficiency stay a priority for Ferrari heading into the subsequent rounds of the 2025 Formulation 1 season.