Hamilton’s Ferrari nightmare continues, Vasseur reveals the real problem

Ferrari's Saturday at Spa-Francorchamps painted two contrasting pictures. On one hand, Charles Leclerc delivered one of his best qualifying laps of the season, securing third place behind Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. On the other, Lewis Hamilton suffered another early exit in Q1, mirroring his Sprint Qualifying struggles from Friday.

Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur was understandably pleased with Leclerc’s performance. “I’m very happy for Charles. He did a great job and the team worked well on setup. We’re making progress with the new rear suspension,” he told Sky Sport F1. “Compared to two weeks ago at Silverstone, the car feels improved.”

Despite the limitations of the Sprint format — with just one free practice session and restricted tyre choices — Vasseur praised the team’s ability to extract performance. “When you bring updates, it’s harder to evaluate them in a Sprint weekend. But we’ve made good steps since our first runs on Friday.”

Leclerc’s lap was identical to Verstappen’s in terms of time, though the Dutchman had set his earlier. The McLarens, however, still held a slight pace advantage.

Hamilton’s struggles continued, this time due to a track limits violation that saw his fastest Q1 lap deleted — a lap that would have safely seen him through. “Lewis had good pace. He was just behind Charles on that lap,” said Vasseur. “It’s not about lacking confidence or not feeling the car. The margins are tiny — you need to be perfect. It’s more about execution.”

Vasseur believes Hamilton’s current issues aren’t related to understanding the SF-25. “Yesterday he was quicker than Charles at Turn 14 before the spin. Today he had the pace again. He just needs to be more relaxed and piece everything together.”

Looking ahead to Sunday, rain is expected — but Vasseur isn’t concerned. “I’m not sure if it would help us, but it would be good to see how the car behaves in all conditions.”

As Leclerc eyes a podium, Hamilton is left hoping for another fightback in what’s been a difficult weekend so far.