Lewis Hamilton stops five times during FP1 in Austria, mysterious issues hit his Ferrari as the seven-time Formula 1 world champion reports a gearbox failure.
Free Practice 1 of the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix turned into a nightmare for Lewis Hamilton, who was held back by recurring technical issues on his Ferrari SF-25. The British driver was forced to return to the garage five times during the session, reporting a gearbox malfunction over the radio.
Each time the car was brought to a halt, Ferrari mechanics opened the left sidepod, focusing mainly on the hydraulic area. However, the failure reported by Hamilton never became clearly visible while the car was in the garage, leaving the engineers confused and visibly frustrated.
Lewis Hamilton stops in the garage multiple times in Austria: what happened to the SF-25?
“Something’s wrong with the gearbox,” Lewis Hamilton reported via radio during the first of his five returns. But each inspection seemed inconclusive, creating confusion within the Ferrari garage. The issue prevented the seven-time world champion from completing a proper on-track programme, severely limiting his mileage ahead of FP2.
The British driver was unable to find any rhythm throughout the session and ended up only ninth in the standings. Ferrari brought a new floor to Austria, which was also tested by rookie Dino Beganovic during FP1 before returning car number 16 to Charles Leclerc, who was absent in the first session.
It remains unclear whether the issue is solely related to the transmission or involves multiple components of the SF-25. The team continues to analyse the data to identify the cause and fix it ahead of the crucial sessions later in the weekend.
Stay with us for live updates from Spielberg, where Ferrari must find a quick solution to avoid compromising the rest of the weekend for their top driver.
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