Hamilton’s brakes and Leclerc’s Safety Car gamble leave Ferrari with 12 points

Ferrari had both cars fourth and fifth on the grid, but only Charles Leclerc reached the finish. Lewis Hamilton made an excellent start before his brake pedal began behaving abnormally. After running off at Turn 20, the Briton retired after only seven laps. He believes Ferrari had a car capable of fighting for victory on Sunday.

Leclerc followed a completely different strategy. Starting on hard tyres, he stayed out under the VSC and led a large part of the race while hoping for another neutralisation. It never came. Ferrari finally stopped him on lap 48; Leclerc finished fourth, 29.116 seconds behind Antonelli. Ferrari therefore leaves Madrid with only 12 points, after its one-lap pace and Hamilton’s opening laps had promised much more.