The Spanish Grand Prix on Friday was marked by Lewis Hamilton’s vocal dissatisfaction with Ferrari’s SF-25 performance, sparking a pointed response from the team’s principal, Fred Vasseur.
On what was supposed to be a promising day at the Spanish Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton found himself outside the top ten, which led to him expressing serious concerns about the Ferrari SF-25. Despite finishing in the top three during the first practice session, Hamilton was not impressed, stating to his race engineer, Riccardo Adami, that “that was bad,” reflecting his disapproval. By the second session, his opinion had only worsened as he described the car as “not driveable,” ending his day in P11 and nearly three tenths behind his teammate, Charles Leclerc.
Fred Vasseur, responding to these critiques, insisted that the day wasn’t as disastrous as Hamilton’s comments suggested. Vasseur believed they had a strong pace initially, although they faced challenges in the afternoon. He acknowledged that while they encountered more difficulties during each stint, this was partly due to the track being laden with marbles which made it challenging to recover if off-line. Despite these challenges, Vasseur was optimistic about the lessons learned regarding the new front wing, which was being tested for the first time in these conditions.
Meanwhile, 2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg was present and didn’t hold back in his assessment, calling the SF-25 the “worst car” he observed, citing issues with balance and handling difficulties. Vasseur admitted there were balance issues, particularly with tire management, but stressed the importance of getting the tires into the right operating window. He asserted that while the car’s balance was not perfect, this was not a unique issue, affecting multiple teams.
Vasseur was notably dismissive of Hamilton’s dramatic radio messages, describing them as “extreme.” While acknowledging the challenging day, he emphasized that the car’s performance during the soft tire stint was competitive with the leaders’ lap times, suggesting that the car’s condition was not as dire as portrayed. He appeared confident that communication under race conditions might exaggerate issues, viewing these comments as part of the competitive edge of the sport.
While Lewis Hamilton’s feedback painted a grim picture, Fred Vasseur’s tempered response aims to focus on realistic improvements and maintaining competitiveness as Ferrari seeks to edge closer to the championship lead.
