“The worst it’s ever been”: Hamilton’s front wing headaches during Spanish GP

Lewis Hamilton equalled his best qualifying position for a grand prix since joining Ferrari last weekend.

However he lacked pace throughout the race and had fallen 12 seconds behind his team mate Charles Leclerc by lap 54, after which the Safety Car appeared. it got no better for him after the restart, as he was passed by Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber.

It was clear from the first stint Leclerc was the quicker of the two Ferrari drivers. But Hamilton became progressively less confident in his car as the race came on, making a series of changes to his front wing settings and complaining about a lack of grip and balance.

Afterwards Ferrari suggested some fault had developed on Hamilton’s car. His final radio messages, at the end of another frustrating race, showed he suspected as much.

Hamilton’s Spanish GP radio

“We are swapping the cars”
“I’m sliding rears”
“Did you take wing out?”
“Just no grip, mate”
“Have I lost places to other people?”
“There’s no way I can catch up”
“Something wrong with that last front wing”
“It’s the worst it’s ever been”

“We are swapping the cars”

Hamilton out-qualified his team mate but Charles Leclerc had deliberately avoided doing a second run in Q3 in order to maximise the number of new tyre sets he had available. Both started on used rubber and got ahead of the Mercedes when the race began, but soon afterwards Leclerc was on Hamilton’s tail and Ferrari made the call to switch them around.

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“I’m sliding rears”

Ferrari were concerned about the threat from George Russell behind, so they brought Hamilton in for his first pit stop early as he began to drop back more quickly from Leclerc. Mercedes left Russell out longer and he was immediately on Hamilton’s tail when they began their second stint.

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“Did you take wing out?”

Soon after his first pit stop, when he switched to the medium tyre compound, Hamilton reported feeling a lack of front-end grip. He asked Adami if the team had reduced his front wing angle at his first pit stop and was told they hadn’t.

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“Just no grip, mate”

Hamilton’s struggles with his car continued throughout his second stint. Adami suggested various changes to his driving style in an effort to improve his pace.

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“Have I lost places to other people?”

This time Mercedes brought Russell in early, on lap 42. Ferrari left Hamilton out five laps longer in the hope he would be able to attack Russell over the final stint. Hamilton told the team he wanted a “plus two” increase in front wing angle when he came into the pits.

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“There’s no way I can catch up”

Hamilton quickly regretted the decision to increase his front wing angle and asked for a significant correction at his next pit stop. He also reported a significant vibration from his tyres and told the team he wouldn’t be able to catch Russell.

The Safety Car was deployed, giving Ferrari a chance to change Hamilton’s front wing settings again.

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“Something wrong with that last front wing”

Despite another change of front wing angle, Hamilton remained unhappy with his front-end grip, and suggested there was some deeper problem.

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“It’s the worst it’s ever been”

Hamilton’s pace on his used soft tyres was not enough to repel an attack from Nico Hulkenberg on a new set. Also his seventh place at the chequered flag became sixth thanks to Max Verstappen’s penalty, he had little to be happy about after the race, and remained convinced there was a problem with his car.

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