Ferrari were hoping to make a significant leap at the Spanish Grand Prix. They didn’t bring major upgrades, but they thought their rivals may fall back.
The FIA introduced much stricter tests for the front wings in an effort to cut out unlawful flexibility. Ferrari envisaged a ‘day of resurrection’ for their 2025 season, with rivals McLaren and Mercedes expected to suffer.
But they were left disappointed. McLaren took a one-two in qualifying, and Oscar Piastri was more than three-tenths clear of the nearest external challenger Max Verstappen.
Ferrari were fourth-fastest on peak performance, with Lewis Hamilton the lead car in P5 behind the McLarens, Verstappen’s Red Bull and the Mercedes of George Russell.
The Scuderia did pick up 23 points in the race as Charles Leclerc bagged a second straight podium, lifting them to second in the constructors’. But Leclerc conceded he was a little lucky with a late safety car, and Hamilton was nowhere on full fuel as he crossed the line in P7.
Ferrari had to make late change to their front wing in Spain
Like the rest of the teams, Ferrari had to bring a revised front wing to Spain to comply with the new inspections. But according to AutoRacer, the FIA ordered them to make a change between FP3 and qualifying.
As the report notes, this was unusually late. Ferrari carried out the modifications ‘easily’ enough.
Team principal Fred Vasseur claimed Hamilton had a problem with his car in the final stint, when he was rather embarrassingly overtaken by Nico Hulkenberg in the customer Sauber. The seven-time world champion took the blame for his poor showing.
It’s unclear whether the instruction from the rulemakers had any adverse impact on Hamilton or Ferrari. But the FIA perhaps need to explain why they intervened so deep into the weekend.
Lewis Hamilton radio messages highlight front wing woes
Hamilton outqualified Leclerc for the first time since China, but the Monegasque was in a different league during the race. Ferrari swapped their cars in the early stages with driver no. 16 glaringly faster.
On the other side of the garage, Hamilton couldn’t get a handle on the front of his car. In a lap 57 radio message, he said that it felt ‘so light all of a sudden’.
Just five laps later, he complained that he had ‘no front wing’. Ferrari will investigate whether the changes they made before and during the Spanish GP weekend affected his comfort behind the wheel.
Carlos Sainz has sympathy for Hamilton, having been through the difficult process of changing teams several times. But while Sainz now looks up to speed at Williams, his replacement seems further from a breakthrough than ever.
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