Lewis Hamilton took responsibility for his poor performance at the Spanish Grand Prix, describing it as “terrible” after finishing in sixth place on Sunday.
Despite matching his best qualifying result of the season and starting fifth, Hamilton quickly allowed his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, to pass him on lap nine.
He then held fifth position for a time, but a slow second pit stop compromised his race, causing him to drop to sixth place and fall behind his former Mercedes teammate, George Russell.
A late Safety Car period triggered by Kimi Antonelli`s retirement offered a potential chance to recover, but instead, Hamilton was overtaken by Nico Hulkenberg in the Sauber.
A visibly dejected Hamilton commented to Sky Sports F1, “Well what do you want me to say? I`ve had a really bad day and have nothing to say. It was a difficult day.”
He continued, “There`s nothing else to add to it. It was terrible. There`s no point explaining it. It`s not your fault. I just don`t know what to say.”
When asked if the team might find technical reasons for the performance, he responded dismissively, “I`m sure they won`t – it was probably just me.”
Having hoped for his first podium finish as a Ferrari driver, Hamilton instead reported taking “zero positives” from the race.
He added, “I have no idea why it was so bad. That was the worst race I`ve experienced balance-wise.”
Vasseur reveals Hamilton `had an issue` in last stint
Hamilton`s race pace is typically a strength, but he was noticeably slower than Leclerc throughout the 66 laps and now trails his teammate by 23 points in the championship standings.
Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur confirmed that Hamilton`s car developed an unspecified issue in the final stint, just before the late Safety Car period.
Vasseur noted, “You are experienced enough to draw a conclusion after the first words of the driver,” but downplayed the idea of controversy, stating, “If you want to create a polemic, you can. But it`s not the case.”
He added, “I think he did 70 per cent of the race in front of Russell. I`m not sure that Russell said that the race was a disaster… The result is not good, but he did 45 laps in front of Russell.”
Rosberg: Hamilton`s race was shockingly bad
Hamilton has only finished ahead of Leclerc once this season, at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Sky Sports F1 analyst and former teammate, Nico Rosberg, commented that it was “hard to watch” Hamilton struggling.
Rosberg stated, “Sunday was a horrible day for him because he was just slow out there, which is very unusual.”
“Yes, sometimes he`s off in qualifying but in races he`s usually really awesome and the race was shockingly bad.”
He speculated, “He doesn`t have answers either. Was there damage on the floor? These floors are so sensitive and there can always be a bit there and you lose a lot of time.”
Rosberg concluded, “When you don`t have any answers, it`s really tough as a driver then you see your team-mate race their way to third place on the podium. In light of the whole season he`s had so far, it`s a very dark situation.”
