BARCELONA, Spain — Lewis Hamilton labelled the clampdown on Formula 1’s bending front wings “a waste of money” after seeing McLaren’s advantage remain untouched out in front.
Speculation coming into the Spanish Grand Prix was that a new directive from the governing FIA around how much flexing is allowed on the front wing would dent or eradicate McLaren’s gap to the rest.
Teams have effectively been working on a different front wing to introduce in line with the new rule for the Barcelona race.
No turnaround materialised — Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris duly locked out the front row, having looked untouchable throughout qualifying.
“What a waste of money,” Hamilton laughed after the session. “It’s just wasted everyone’s money.”
“It’s literally changed nothing. Everyone’s wings still bend, it is just half the bending; and everyone’s had to make new wings and spend more money to make these. It doesn’t make sense. “
He later added: “We should be giving it to charity.”
Hamilton had predicted ahead of the weekend that the change would be minimal, having seen little to get excited about in terms of a lap time gain from Ferrari’s simulator.
The seven-time world champion qualified fifth, half a second off Piastri’s pole time.
The Ferrari driver dismissed the idea that anyone will catch McLaren in the near future.
When asked whether he agreed that McLaren are “almost untouchable” out in front, he said: “Yeah, yeah. It’s an amazing job they’ve done. [To] me, it’s half a second, but to the guys in front, it is three-tenths.
“It’s not an insurmountable amount that you could catch up, but, for example, a lot of work, months, went into developing and getting a tenth of performance. We don’t have half a second coming, that’s for sure, which is what I would need to topple them.”
Hamilton’s performance was just the second time this year he has outqualified Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, who will start seventh.
