Ferrari wants to precisely understand the brake failure that forced Lewis Hamilton to retire after only six laps in Madrid.
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Ferrari intends to leave nothing to chance after Lewis Hamilton’s early retirement at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Scuderia has announced the launch of a thorough investigation to identify the exact origin of the braking problem that abruptly ended the seven-time world champion’s race.
Starting fourth on the grid in Madrid, Hamilton had made an excellent start and seemed capable of fighting at the front. But from the first laps, the Briton noticed a worrying behavior of his brake pedal. The problem temporarily disappeared before returning, ultimately forcing Ferrari to stop his car.
Ferrari does not yet know the cause of the failure
Hamilton explained after the race that the first symptoms appeared when braking for turn 5. While his car had started to slow down normally, the pedal suddenly pressed further, preventing him from decelerating sufficiently.
The Briton then ran wide and slightly touched the barrier. However, the situation seemed to have recovered a few moments later as the pedal returned to normal behavior in the following corners. But the problem quickly reappeared.
Ferrari tried to intervene remotely by giving various instructions to its driver, without managing to definitively eliminate the failure. Fred Vasseur acknowledges that the team does not yet have a precise explanation.
“At this stage, we do not yet know the exact cause of the problem with the braking system that forced him to retire. But we will conduct a thorough investigation.”
The Ferrari director also confirms the symptoms described by Hamilton.
“The pedal was pressing too far. We tried to solve the problem from the pit wall, then it happened again.”
A particularly worrying problem for Ferrari
A brake pedal that extends like this can generally be linked to a loss of hydraulic pressure. However, we will have to wait for the conclusions of the analysis carried out in Maranello to know precisely what happened on Hamilton’s SF-26.
The incident draws even more attention as Ferrari has already encountered problems related to brake feel this season. However, nothing at this stage allows us to affirm that the failure in Madrid is directly related to the previously observed difficulties.
This retirement also ended a remarkable streak for Hamilton. Until the Spanish Grand Prix, the Briton was the last driver on the grid to have scored points in every race of the 2026 season. He had not even missed a single lap of a Grand Prix or Sprint race since the start of the year.
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Despite this zero score, Hamilton retains third place in the championship with 191 points before the next round in Azerbaijan.
Leclerc saves Ferrari with a bold strategy
Ferrari still limited the damage thanks to Charles Leclerc. Fifth at the start, the Monegasque finally finished fourth, 29.116 seconds behind the winner Kimi Antonelli and with only 0.713 seconds ahead of George Russell.
The Scuderia had chosen to split the strategies of its two drivers. Hamilton started on soft tires while Leclerc began on hards, aiming to extend his first stint as long as possible.
“Like a few other teams, we split our strategies by starting one car on softs and the other on hards. Charles was leading the group of those who started on hard tires and he had a very good first stint.”
Leclerc ultimately kept his tires for nearly 50 laps. Ferrari hoped that another safety car or a red flag would allow him to make a low-cost stop and gain several positions.
“We knew there was a reasonable chance of seeing a safety car or a red flag. So we decided to extend the stint to keep that opportunity open.”
Ferrari was ready to go all out
The strategy was risky, but the potential gains justified the gamble in Vasseur’s eyes. A red flag could have allowed Leclerc to change his tires without really losing his position and possibly find himself in a position to fight for the win. A late safety car could also have given him a chance to go for the podium.
None of these scenarios ultimately occurred. Ferrari therefore called Leclerc back nine laps from the finish to protect his position against Russell’s comeback.
“A red flag could have put us in a situation where we could fight for the win, while a late safety car could have given us a chance to finish third. In the end, none of that happened, but it was absolutely worth trying and Charles delivered a very solid performance.”
With 167 points, Leclerc now occupies fifth place in the championship, while Hamilton remains third with 191 points. But before the next Grand Prix in Azerbaijan, Ferrari’s priority will mainly be to understand why Hamilton’s car braking system suddenly failed in Madrid and to ensure that the problem cannot happen again.
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