Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari SF-25 went through all kinds of trouble in the 2025 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix, which was held last Sunday at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal. A weekend that was already difficult turned into something close to a nightmare on Sunday. For this reason, the final sixth-place finish can actually be seen as a relatively positive outcome. A result that, of course, is not exciting, but the problems suffered by the car over the 300 kilometer race distance clearly limited the Briton’s performance.
The former Mercedes driver’s qualifying did not go according to plan due to tyre management. Although in Q2, running Medium tyres, his performance was actually very strong, in the final part of qualifying he struggled significantly on the Softs. The Pirelli C6, which is already not easy to manage, simply did not work on car number 55. As a result, he ended up six and a half tenths behind pole-sitter George Russell, who used the Medium compound.
After the session, the seven-time Formula 1 world champion revealed that he had wanted to try the C5, but the team opted for the red compound, thinking it would offer more grip potential. And that was likely true, except that without managing to bring the surface temperature of the tyre up to the correct level, the grip ended up being completely insufficient. This led to a fifth place on the grid, which was, objectively, disappointing.
For the race, the Briton chose to start on the Mediums—a different strategy from Charles Leclerc, who aimed to use the Hards to extend the first stint as much as possible. Overall, the first part of Lewis Hamilton’s race wasn’t bad. That was the radio assessment from his race engineer Riccardo Adami, even though from lap 13, the Briton’s car was unfortunately damaged in the floor area.
Oscar Piastri managed to spot and avoid it. The same unfortunately did not happen for the seven-time F1 world champion who, misled by the shadow cast by the bridge, simply did not see it. We are talking about the groundhog that Lewis Hamilton hit on lap 13. The British driver had no idea at the time, only finding out what had happened after the race. He was deeply upset, being an animal lover.
The fact remains that the SF-25 car sustained significant damage. We know how critical the floor is for ground-effect cars, and this kind of issue can greatly hinder the generation of vertical downforce. According to the estimate from Ferrari’s pit wall, based on data from sensors on the car, number 44 lost as many as 20 points of downforce, which had a major impact over the course of the race.
But Lewis Hamilton’s problems did not stop there. On top of having to fight with an unbalanced car, with a rear end that was too light due to the lack of downforce, and in addition to traffic that cost him a lot of time, the Briton faced yet another issue—this time with the braking system. From lap 42 onward, the Ferrari driver reported a problem with the brake pedal during braking phases. Lacking proper brake sensitivity is a serious limitation for a Formula 1 car. When the issue arose, the Briton grew concerned, asking whether this additional brake problem would allow him to finish the race. He was reassured, although he would have to manage the problem until the final lap. A limitation which, added to the floor damage, slowed the pace of the red car.
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