Lewis Hamilton found himself at the centre of growing frustration during FP1 at the Madring, with several drivers unhappy about the way he handled traffic on track. The Ferrari driver was involved in a number of situations during the opening practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix, drawing complaints from rivals who felt he could have done more to safely clear the way.
The session produced incidents involving Hamilton from both sides, as there were moments when he complained about being delayed by other cars, while on other occasions he was the driver ahead causing frustration for those approaching from behind. Charles Leclerc was among the first to raise concerns over team radio, suggesting Ferrari needed to monitor the situation after appearing to believe Hamilto
n was unaware that he was being caught by another car.
Nico Hulkenberg was particularly unhappy late in the session after encountering Hamilton through the final sequence of corners. The Sauber driver questioned why Hamilton had not simply allowed him through, arguing that doing so would have caused little inconvenience and would have allowed Hamilton to regain the position later without difficulty.
Carlos Sainz also expressed his displeasure after Hamilton allowed him past around the famous Monumental corner. The Williams driver felt the manoeuvre was unnecessarily risky and argued that Hamilton could have moved slightly farther away from the racing line to give him more room, describing it as something that required virtually no extra effort.
With multiple drivers voicing concerns during the same session, Hamilton’s approach to traffic management quickly became one of the talking points from FP1 at the Madring. While practice sessions regularly produce disagreements over positioning and timing, the repeated complaints suggest the Ferrari star will need to be more cautious when dealing with approaching cars in the next sessions.
