Usually Lewis Hamilton is a man of clear words – after victories as well as after defeats. But what the seven -time world champion said after the Grand Prix of Spain spoke above all through what he didn’t say.
“It was the worst race of my life,” said Hamilton with an empty look and toneless voice. The questions of the reporter crashed into him like raindrops on carbon. Will there be anything positive from the weekend? “Zero,” replied Hamilton. No smile, no wink – nothing.
At least the weekend had given hope on paper. Starting position five, before teammate Charles Leclerc – a success in qualifying. But the picture turned quickly in the race: Leclerc was much faster, was allowed to pass the team – a symbolic process that should not have passed the Hamilton without a trace.
The highlight then the end of the race when he was overtaken after Nico Hülkenberg’s safety car. When asked whether the old tires had made him a slight victim in the end, he only replied: “Everyone was on the same tires.” No explain, no search for excuses – just sober findings.
Why was the car so bad? “I didn’t have a grip behind from the start.” Did the driving behavior improve at some point? “I don’t know why you say that.” And how things will continue until the next race in Canada – a place where Hamilton has won seven times in the past? “I’m going home,” said his conclusion.
Vasseur: “No disaster”
Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur had visibly tried not to escalate the situation. When asked about Hamilton’s hard words, the Frenchman remained calm: “If you want to make a controversy out of it, you can – but that is not the case here,” said Vasseur.
He reminded that Hamilton was long ahead of Mercedes pilot George Russell in the race: “I think he spent 70 percent of the race ahead of Russell. And I am not sure whether Russell described the race as a disaster.” Vasseur did not want to reveal exactly what the problem was in the last stint: “No, I don’t say that.”
Ralf Schumacher: “That gnaws at him”
“Sky” expert Ralf Schumacher sees an alarm signal in Hamilton’s appearance. “I think that will gnaw at him,” said Schumacher after the race. “Qualifying was not bad, there was a little glimmer of hope. But in the race it turns out: he doesn’t get along with the car.”
The fact that Leclerc feels more comfortable in Ferrari is visible – and the team order moment is difficult to swallow for a driver like Hamilton. “It is also about ego,” said Schumacher. And further: “It is not much different for the others – Antonelli, Bortoleto, sometimes Sainz. You just have to give him some time.”