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Lewis Hamilton finished sixth in the 2025 Spanish GP but was quick to recognize Ferrari's performance after teammate Charles Leclerc secured a second straight podium. Despite his own frustrations, Hamilton respected his team's strategy calls and credited them for doing 'a great job'.
The seven-time world champion's comments followed a disappointing race. Hamilton qualified fifth on the grid, two places ahead of his teammate, after showing an encouraging qualifying pace. However, ten laps into the race, the Ferrari drivers were instructed to swap positions while Hamilton was ahead.
Speaking after the race with Sky Sports, the Briton held no bitterness towards the overall strategy.
"Strategy call was good, the team did a great job," he said, while still sounding disheartened. (0:17 onwards)
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As the lights went out for the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton made a good start and briefly ran fourth, but the race quickly turned into a struggle. The first key moment came when Ferrari opted to switch Charles to fourth and Lewis back to fifth.
Following this, the team called Hamilton into the pits relatively early in the race on Lap 14. His confusion was clear over the team radio (via La Gazzetta Ferrari on X):
"Why did you call me in so early?"
From there, his race never quite stabilized. That stop dropped him into traffic, and his track position worsened when he was overtaken by Sauber's Nico Hülkenberg. Hamilton found himself in a race of damage limitation as others stretched their stints or gained time in clear air.
Hamilton eventually crossed the line seventh but was later promoted to sixth after Max Verstappen received a time penalty.
Lewis Hamilton's grip struggles return as Charles Leclerc shines again
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya saw another dominant 1-2 finish from McLaren, continuing the team's unstoppable form with Oscar Piastri leading Lando Norris across the line. Behind them, a tightly contested fight for the final podium spot ensued, with Charles Leclerc clinching third place after starting from seventh.
Ferrari's consistent upgrades and race-day calls continued to pay dividends, though not equally for both cars.
Lewis Hamilton's biggest gripe, however, wasn't the pit stop but the car's handling. Over team radio, Hamilton repeatedly cited problems with his No. 44 SF-25 car's rear tire degradation and overall grip on team radio. This pattern of rear instability has plagued Hamilton intermittently this season, and Sunday's race added another chapter to that frustration.
However, Team principal Fred Vasseur was measured in his post-race analysis, choosing to focus on Ferrari's broader momentum.
"It's always good to finish on the podium, and this result, following the one in Monaco confirms we're building momentum... Lewis also had strong pace until the final stint, where he reported some balance issues. We'll look into it, but it was important that he still managed to bring home some points." (via Scuderia Ferrari)
Hamilton's frustration may have been compounded by the contrasting fortunes within his own garage. Starting two positions ahead of Leclerc, he eventually finished behind him.
Lewis Hamilton remains sixth in driver standings with 71 points, trailing Leclerc by 23. Meanwhile, Ferrari jumped to second place in the Constructor's Championship with 165 points.
