Lewis Hamilton snapped in his post-race interview and looked visibly emotional as he bemoaned more struggles with Ferrari. The seven-time world champion was gunning for his first podium since joining the Italian team, but eventually finished P6 and was overtaken by Nico Hulkenberg late in the Spanish Grand Prix.
He complained that “something is wrong with the car” over his team radio and when asked for his immediate thoughts on the race by Sky Sports F1, a downbeat Hamilton replied: “Not particularly, it was not a great day. The strategy was good, the team did a great job. Just, that’s it.”
Sky interviewer Rachel Brookes stepped in to tell Hamilton, “I hate seeing you in this mood”, only for the 40-year-old to snap back, replying: “Well what do you want me to say!? I had a really bad day and I’ve got nothing to say.
“It was a difficult day, I’ve got nothing else to add to it. There’s no point explaining it. It’s not your fault I’ve just not got anything to say.”
Offering a crumb of comfort, Brooks told Hamilton that she hopes Ferrari can find some answers for him, but the Brit simply replied: “I’m sure they won’t, the answer is probably just me.”
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Hamilton shook his head in the car in disappointment after finishing the race. He has now finished six of his nine Ferrari Grand Prix outside of the top five.
He trails his team-mate, Charles Leclerc, by 23 points in the Drivers’ Championship and sits sixth in the standings. Leclerc has claimed three podium finishes, including one in Barcelona, while Hamilton is still in search of his first.
The sole bright spark for Hamilton at Ferrari has been the Sprint Race victory in China.
Hamilton was told to let team-mate Leclerc pass him early in the race, unable to keep pace with the leading pack, and Leclerc went on to finish third. Though he admitted that without a late Safety Car he would not have overtaken Max Verstappen.
“It was a battle for track position to get the slipstream,” Leclerc said. “Max wanted to bring me towards the inside and I didn’t want to go there, so I tried to push him there.
“I tried to push him to the left, there was a bit of contact but fortunately no consequences. I’m really happy. I sacrificed qualifying in order to have better tyres. I didn’t know if it would pay off but it did. I think P4 in a normal race would have been our position. With the Safety Car we got lucky.”
Unbeknownst to Leclerc, however, he remained under investigation for that incident with Verstappen after admitting that he pushed the Red Bull man to the left. The stewards have since confirmed that he will face no further punishment.
