Lewis Hamilton seemed to ignore Ferrari’s usual rule about keeping car problems quiet after another tough showing in the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint. The seven-time champion started from P18 after a poor qualifying and finished 17th, unable to pass anyone during the race. Up front, Oscar Piastri won the sprint to keep his title hopes alive, finishing ahead of George Russell and teammate Lando Norris, while Max Verstappen came fourth. Norris’s championship lead shrank to 22 points with two Grands Prix left.
On team radio right after the chequered flag, Hamilton vented his frustration, saying, “I don’t know how we made the car worse.” The team had started him from the pit lane to test some simulator changes from the night before, but those tweaks backfired badly. In the media pen afterward, Hamilton went into detail about the SF-25’s issues, describing it as a constant battle to drive.
This openness might have broken an internal Ferrari guideline. Earlier in the season before the Canadian Grand Prix, Hamilton hinted that the team prefers drivers not to air dirty laundry publicly. He had said at the time, “Unfortunately the team don’t really want us to talk about it, but we both had issues that were hindering us massively from halfway through the race.” That was about him and Charles Leclerc staying silent on problems.
In Qatar, Hamilton didn’t hold back, calling the car a “fight like you couldn’t believe.” He explained the rear end felt unstable and kept sliding or snapping, especially in corners like Turn 10 where it would bounce and cause mid-corner understeer. “It’s different between low, medium and high speed,” he added, painting a picture of a machine that was hard to control no matter the situation.
Hamilton’s candid comments come at a low point in his first Ferrari year, with no podiums and sixth in the standings. The sprint result highlighted how far behind Ferrari is, as McLaren and Mercedes dominated the top spots. With the main Grand Prix still to come, Hamilton’s words could stir things up inside the team as they head into the final races.
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