What began as a promising race for Ferrari turned into a complete nightmare at Interlagos. Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were forced to retire, leaving the team with a devastating double zero in Brazil. Charles Leclerc was taken out through no fault of his own, while Hamilton endured a chaotic race filled with contact, damage, and penalties before his eventual retirement.
The chaos for Ferrari started right at the beginning. In the opening moments, Lewis Hamilton was hit by Carlos Sainz in an incident noted by the stewards but not investigated. The contact caused early damage to the Briton’s SF-25, and his troubles only grew from there. While attempting to overtake Franco Colapinto, Lewis Hamilton misjudged the space and clipped the Argentine driver’s rear tire, damaging his own car in the process.
The #44 Ferrari suffered serious damage and was forced to pit for a new front wing and tires. Hamilton was handed a five-second penalty for the collision, and after serving it, Ferrari decided to retire the car on lap 38. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc, who had made an excellent start, became an innocent victim in the chaotic collision between Oscar Piastri and Kimi Antonelli during the restart. His SF-25 was too damaged to continue.
“Unfortunately, with Charles we were the victims of contact between other cars, and it was quite a hard one for him,” said Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur after the race. “He had a good start and was in the right position, but the second collision was a very heavy hit. I think we had good pace today, we were in the fight and not too far off the others. The start of the race had been very promising.”
Fred Vasseur praised Charles Leclerc’s performance despite the outcome. “I can’t complain about the pace this weekend, at least from Charles’ side—he did an excellent job. Unfortunately, we paid the price for the incident between Antonelli and Piastri. Looking ahead, we must focus on the next races and understand what we can improve,” he said, clearly disappointed by how the weekend unfolded.
He added that Ferrari’s potential was strong enough to fight for victory under different circumstances. “Today, without the puncture, we could even have won. The potential was there, and we’re on the right path to catch up with the others. Given the pace we had, I don’t think there was much more we could do. Charles had absolutely no responsibility for what happened. The team still worked very well.”
When asked what positives Ferrari could take from such a difficult weekend, Fred Vasseur concluded: “Our P3 in qualifying and Charles’ good start. That’s what we’ll build on as we move forward.”
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