BREAKING: Lewis Hamilton Explains Ferrari’s Surprising D…read more
Lewis Hamilton Explains Ferrari’s Surprising Decline at the Chinese Grand Prix
Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton has opened up about Ferrari’s unexpected drop in performance during the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix weekend After a promising start claiming his first pole position for Ferrari and converting it into a dominant sprint race victory Hamilton’s pace dramatically fell away, leaving him struggling in the main Grand Prix event.
From Sprint Victory to Qualifying Struggles
Hamilton’s weekend began on a high note, as he topped Sprint Qualifying on Friday and followed it up with a convincing win in the Sprint Race, leading by a comfortable six seconds. However, by the time Grand Prix Qualifying took place on Saturday, his form had nosedived, as he barely escaped Q1, finishing outside the top ten.
Despite a slight improvement in Q2 and Q3, Hamilton could only secure P5 on the grid for Sunday’s race far from the dominant pace he had shown just a day earlier.
Hamilton’s Struggles in the Grand Prix
Starting from fifth, Hamilton failed to make up ground during the race and even had to swap positions with teammate Charles Leclerc, who was marginally faster. Both Ferrari drivers finished P5 and P6, but the team suffered a double disqualification post-race, stripping them of any points due to technical infringements,
Despite this disappointment, Hamilton’s Sprint Race win remained unaffected, offering a small silver lining for Ferrari. However, the rapid decline in performance between Saturday and Sunday has raised concerns within the team.
Hamilton’s Explanation for Ferrari’s Poor Performance
Speaking to Sky F1 after the racebut before his disqualification was confirmed Hamilton admitted that setup changes made after the sprint backfired, worsening Ferrari’s pace rather than improving it.
“I’m glad that we tried something. I struggled with performance,” Hamilton said. ”
Ultimately, we had a pretty decent car in the Sprint, and then we made some changes because we were trying to move forward and improve the car but we made it quite a bit worse going into qualifying. Then it was even worse in the race.”
Hamilton also highlighted Ferrari’s pit stop strategy and tire struggles, explaining that despite having fresher tires than Verstappen, he still couldn’t close the gap.
“The pit stop is too long here, it’s a lot of seconds to catch up, and they were still going fast at the end. Max was doing something similar to me and I had much fresher tyres, so it wasn’t great.”
What’s Next for Hamilton and Ferrari?
With Ferrari losing all points from the Chinese Grand Prix, the team will need to bounce back quickly in the next race. Hamilton’s early sprint success showed glimpses of Ferrari’s potential, but their inconsistent race pace and setup miscalculations have raised questions about their ability to challenge McLaren, Red Bull, and Mercedes in the title fight.
As the season continues, Ferrari must refine their approach, ensuring that their promising speed in sprints translates into consistent race-day results.
