Hamilton, Vasseur, socials — Photo: © IMAGO

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Ferrari to launch Lewis Hamilton investigation after performance drop

Lewis Hamilton's performance at the Spanish Grand Prix caused alarm

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 3 June 2025 13:43 Updated: 16:32

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has revealed that the team will investigate Lewis Hamilton’s performance at the Spanish Grand Prix, after a self-proclaimed ‘terrible’ weekend for the champion.

Despite out-qualifying his team-mate Charles Leclerc on Saturday, Hamilton was forced to let the faster Ferrari through on lap 10 of the race as the 40-year-old clearly struggled to find pace.

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While Leclerc managed to claim a spot on the podium in Barcelona, Hamilton had to settle for sixth after he was passed by Nico Hulkenberg on the safety car restart.

Speaking to Sky Sports Germany after the race, Vasseur reflected on a positive race in regards to Ferrari’s pace but revealed further investigation was needed to understand Hamilton’s deficit during the grand prix.

“I'm happy with it, but it was a little chaotic. We have some question marks over the tyres because they were better at the end than at the beginning,” Vasseur said.

“But we've had three good races now with Imola, Monaco, and Barcelona. That means we're back in the fight for second place in the constructors' championship."

"The [Hamilton’s] pace was okay, except for the last stint. I don't know if there was a problem there; we'll have to look into that. He had a significant drop in performance in the final part of the race."

Why did Hamilton struggle at the Spanish GP?

A multitude of theories have been bandied about as to why Hamilton has struggled in relation to Leclerc in 2025, with Nico Rosberg naming the champion’s age as a contributing factor.

Speaking post-race, Hamilton also stated that it was the ‘worst race’ he’d experienced ‘balance-wise’, but could offer no further insight as to what caused a drop-off in performance.

Vasseur later elaborated on Hamilton’s issue at the Spanish GP, and explained to Sky that the Brit suffered a problem on the car before the safety car but refused to divulge further information on the problem.

Whilst Ferrari are left scratching their heads over Hamilton’s performance, the champion enters the week break between races 23 points behind Leclerc in the drivers’ championship.

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Charles Leclerc Nico Hulkenberg Fred Vasseur Spanish Grand Prix