Lewis Hamilton took responsibility for his performance at the Spanish Grand Prix, describing it as “terrible” after securing only sixth place in Sunday`s race.
Despite matching his best qualifying result of the season with a fifth-place start on Saturday, Hamilton was soon overtaken by his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, just nine laps into the race.
He then spent a period in fifth position before a sluggish second pit stop hindered his battle with former Mercedes teammate George Russell, causing him to drop to sixth.
A late Safety Car period following Kimi Antonelli`s retirement offered a potential chance to recover positions, but instead, he was passed by Nico Hulkenberg in the Sauber.
A visibly dejected Hamilton commented to Sky Sports F1, “What do you want me to say? I had a really bad day and have nothing to say. It was a difficult day.”
He continued, “There`s nothing else to add. It was terrible. There`s no point explaining it… I just don`t know what to say.”
When asked if the team could find reasons for the poor performance, he responded, “I`m sure they won`t – it was probably just me.”
Hamilton had been aiming for his first podium finish as a Ferrari driver, but ultimately found “zero positives” from the race.
He stated, “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
Typically strong in race pace, Hamilton was notably slower than Leclerc over the 66 laps at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, putting him 23 points adrift of his teammate in the championship standings.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur mentioned that Hamilton`s car experienced an unspecified issue during the final stint, just before the late Safety Car period.
Vasseur commented, “You are experienced enough to draw a conclusion after the first words of the driver.”
He added, “If you want to create a polemic, you can, but that`s not the case. I think he was ahead of Russell for 70 per cent of the race. I`m not sure Russell would say his race was a disaster.”
“However,” Vasseur concluded, “we did have an issue with the car in the last stint before the Safety Car. The final result isn`t good, but he was in front of Russell for 45 laps.”
Rosberg: Hamilton`s race was shockingly bad
In race finishes this season, Hamilton has only finished ahead of Leclerc once, at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Former teammate and Sky Sports F1 pundit Nico Rosberg found it “hard to watch” Hamilton`s struggles.
Rosberg stated, “Sunday was a horrible day for him because he was just slow out there, which is very unusual.”
He continued, “Yes, sometimes he`s not quite there in qualifying, but in races he`s usually really awesome, and the race [in Spain] was shockingly bad.”
Rosberg speculated, “He doesn`t have answers either. Was there damage on the floor? These floors are so sensitive, and even a small issue there can cause you to lose a lot of time.”
He concluded, “When you don`t have any answers, it`s really tough as a driver, especially when you see your teammate finishing third on the podium. Considering his season so far, it`s a very dark situation.”
