Hamilton and Leclerc reflect on a difficult race for Ferrari

Credit: Formula One

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had to settle for a fifth and eighth place finish respectively in Austria today. The previous race in Barcelona saw Hamilton secure his first victory for Ferrari since joining the team at the beginning of 2025. However, today was a different story for the Briton, who had to contend with soaring temperatures and tyres that refused to cooperate.

Following the race, Hamilton spoke about where Ferrari struggled this afternoon: "The cars didn't agree with any of the tyres today. It was a very, very hard race, a really tough race. Being extremely hot.

"My start wasn't very good, a poor getaway. I was on the attack and it wasn't looking too bad the first few laps, then my rear just dropped off.

"Grip-wise, we just couldn't keep up with everyone. But I am grateful for the points. The team did a great job with strategy and pitstops." Not only did they struggle with their tyre management and grip, but there have been some reliability issues with the SF-26 seen throughout the season, including in Barcelona where Leclerc had to retire late in the race.

On that note, Hamilton touched on the power issues and mentioned the need for a power upgrade in the coming weeks: "We are going to have to push very hard to see when we can get the next power upgrade. That won't come for a while.”

On Leclerc’s side of things, he has been struggling in the full race length as opposed to qualifying. On Saturday, Leclerc managed to qualify second and wasn’t far off taking pole position.

Today, Leclerc said things were “pretty bad,” after finishing six places down from where he started. 

"I went into a set-up direction yesterday that I felt was pretty similar to what felt good last year but this year it was never working,” the Monegasque driver added.

"The rear was never there, I was sliding around, overheating the rear tyres. It was very tricky.

Leclerc also suggested that the problems extend beyond Austria, pointing to Ferrari’s inconsistent performance from one weekend to the next. 

"Nobody is really understanding the difference of performance from one weekend to another. In Barcelona, we were probably one of the strongest cars - we brought some upgrades that worked.

"I don't think it was down to the upgrades this weekend. It's just that these cars are very sensitive. As soon as you’re not in the right place with set-up, you pay the price a lot."

"I don't think it was down to the upgrades this weekend. It's just that these cars are very sensitive. As soon as you’re not in the right place with set-up, you pay the price a lot." Despite the frustrating result in Austria today, Ferrari will have little time to dwell on the performance as the attention quickly turns to the next round at Silverstone. Both Hamilton and Leclerc will be hoping for a better performance out of the SF-26, with the team looking to rediscover the pace that previously challenged Mercedes at the front.