Ferrari should have listened to Lewis Hamilton simulator warning as ‘resurrection’ plan in tatters

Ferrari have moved up to second place in the constructors’ championship after the Spanish Grand Prix. But the mood at Maranello is anything but positive.

While Charles Leclerc delivered the team’s second consecutive podium, they are almost 200 points behind McLaren already. The iconic duo battled for the title last year, with Ferrari losing out by just 14 points.

Leclerc is consistently extracting the maximum from a profoundly disappointing SF-25. Meanwhile, superstar teammate Lewis Hamilton is in disarray.

Hamilton said the balance of his Ferrari was worse than ever in Spain, having crossed the line seventh after Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg embarrassingly passed him. That became sixth due to Max Verstappen’s penalty, but he remained utterly disconsolate.

Hamilton can’t generate any momentum at his new team. His Sprint win in China was immediately followed by a disqualification, and his podium in Miami’s Saturday race preceded a Q2 exit.

A rousing charge from 12th to fourth at Imola didn’t yield a breakthrough either. Last weekend, the seven-time world champion outqualified Leclerc for just the second time before his dismal race.

Ferrari were banking on FIA’s front-wing crackdown to resurrect their 2025 season

Ferrari saw the Spanish Grand Prix as their ‘day of resurrection’, at least internally. They knew the FIA were cracking down on the flexibility of the front wings.

Fred Vasseur believed that pacesetters McLaren were benefitting most from the relatively lenient rules, along with Mercedes. But as former F1 designer Gary Anderson noted in his column for The Telegraph, the new load tests made little difference in the end.

“Despite the regulation change, the top four teams have pretty much stayed exactly where they were, though it is difficult to judge fully after just one race,” he wrote.

“Given the flexi-wing change was announced several months ago, the teams would have been hard at work for a while, producing front wings that comply.”

The Ferrari was once again the fourth-fastest car in qualifying, and Leclerc finished more than 10 seconds behind race-winner Piastri despite a late safety car.

F1 paddock insiders thought Vasseur was overly optimistic about the rule changes, with the onus now back on Ferrari to close the gap to McLaren through upgrades.

Was Lewis Hamilton in tears after the Spanish Grand Prix?

Having driven on the simulator with the new front wing, Hamilton warned Ferrari not to expect a meaningful impact.

“I drove it on the simulator, and it’s pretty much exactly the same,” he said in Spain, as quoted by BBC Sport. “A little bit more oversteer in the high speed [is the only difference].”

Now it looks like Ferrari should have listened to Hamilton rather than pinning their hopes on the new directive. A winless season is a real possibility.

A disillusioned Hamilton was reportedly in tears following the conclusion of Sunday’s race. He was seen wiping his eyes under his helmet after hitting what he saw as a new low.