Scuderia Ferrari had excessive hopes of constructing a big breakthrough on the Barcelona Grand Prix on the Circuit de Catalunya. Though they didn’t introduce main upgrades, the crew anticipated their rivals to battle underneath new laws. The FIA had applied a lot stricter exams on entrance wings to eradicate unlawful flexibility, and Ferrari anticipated this might mark a turning level of their 2025 season. They predicted groups like McLaren and Mercedes would face setbacks. Nonetheless, the outcomes proved in any other case, leaving Ferrari upset.
McLaren dominated qualifying with a one-two end, and Oscar Piastri was over three-tenths of a second quicker than the subsequent closest competitor exterior the crew, Max Verstappen. Ferrari managed solely fourth-fastest peak efficiency, with Lewis Hamilton main in fifth place behind the McLarens, Verstappen’s Purple Bull, and George Russell’s Mercedes.
Regardless of this, Ferrari secured 23 factors within the race as Charles Leclerc achieved a second consecutive podium, boosting the crew to second place within the Constructors’ Championship. Charles Leclerc admitted {that a} late security automobile performed an element in his podium end, whereas Lewis Hamilton struggled all through the race, ending seventh on full gasoline with no probability to problem the frontrunners.
One notable situation for Ferrari was a late entrance wing change mandated by the FIA in Spain. Like all groups, Ferrari needed to alter their entrance wing design to fulfill the brand new laws. In keeping with the Italian media, the FIA ordered Ferrari to switch their entrance wing between the third observe session and qualifying, which was an unusually late directive. Ferrari made the required adjustments with out a lot problem.
Ferrari’s crew principal Fred Vasseur revealed that the Briton encountered issues together with his automobile through the closing stint of the race, which contributed to an embarrassing second the place he was overtaken by Nico Hulkenberg in a buyer Sauber. Lewis Hamilton accepted duty for his underwhelming efficiency.
It stays unclear if the FIA’s late instruction relating to the entrance wing had any unfavorable impression on Hamilton or the Ferrari crew. Nonetheless, the FIA could must make clear why such a late intervention occurred deep into the race weekend.
Lewis Hamilton’s radio messages through the race highlighted ongoing entrance wing difficulties. Whereas Lewis Hamilton outqualified Leclerc for the primary time because the Chinese language Grand Prix, Leclerc’s tempo through the race was in a special league. Ferrari swapped the 2 drivers early on, with Charles Leclerc, automobile quantity 16, considerably quicker.
Lewis Hamilton struggled with front-end grip all through the race. On lap 57, he reported through radio that the entrance of his automobile all of a sudden felt very mild. 5 laps later, he complained of primarily having “no entrance wing.” Ferrari is now investigating whether or not the entrance wing adjustments made earlier than and through the Spanish GP weekend contributed to Hamilton’s dealing with points.
Carlos Sainz, who was changed at Ferrari by the Briton, expressed sympathy for Lewis Hamilton’s struggles, understanding the challenges that include adjusting to new automobiles and groups. Whereas Carlos Sainz has discovered his rhythm at Williams, the seven-time Method 1 world champion’s difficulties recommend that the seven-time world champion nonetheless faces an uphill battle to seek out kind this season.
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