Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur confirmed that Lewis Hamilton was suffering from a long brake pedal at the Spanish Grand Prix.
When an attempted Ferrari fix from the pit wall failed to resolve the issue, the team deemed it too risky for Hamilton to continue, as he retired his SF-26 car from the Madring race.
Lewis Hamilton suffers DNF at Spanish GP
Hamilton went side-by-side with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at the start of the Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen taking to the run-off.
Red Bull instructed the Dutchman to give the position back to Hamilton. Verstappen insisted that he had to cut the corner to avoid a crash.
Complicating matters was the fact that Hamilton soon reported a braking issue, and Verstappen had overtaken Kimi Antonelli.
Eventually following instructions from the pit wall, Verstappen let Antonelli and Hamilton through, but quickly re-passed Hamilton who was increasingly in trouble in his Ferrari.
Hamilton sunk down the order before race engineer Carlo Santi told him to box to retire the car.
Speaking with PlanetF1.com and others after the race, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur was asked whether Hamilton’s issue stemmed from that moment with Verstappen into Turn 1.
“Honestly, I don’t know, because they were working on the car when I left,” he replied.
Vasseur confirmed that Hamilton was suffering with a long brake pedal, and revealed that Ferrari had attempted to resolve the issue.
Unsuccessful, the team decided to pull Hamilton from the race. The seven-time world champion was collecting track limit violations as he fought to keep the Ferrari on the road.
“The pedal was long. We tried to fix it from the pit wall, and then it happened again a couple of corners later,” Vasseur confirmed.
Vasseur admitted that to stay on track “made no sense” for Hamilton due to the high risk involved, with the decision made to retire his car from the Spanish Grand Prix.
Latest Spanish Grand Prix analysis from PlanetF1.com
Spanish GP conclusions: Imaginary Hamilton challenge over, Norris joins elite, soulless Madring
Spanish GP 2026 driver ratings: Classy Norris, Sainz underwhelms
Hamilton’s assessment of his brake pedal issue mirrored the information provided by Vasseur.
“I had a good start. I didn’t see Max during that start,” Hamilton told PlanetF1.com and others after the race.
“I wasn’t in the battle going down into Turn 5, but then it was when I went into Turn 5, the brake started stopping okay, and then the pedal took a step and it wouldn’t stop all of a sudden.
“I ended up going wide, and that’s when I just tapped the barrier, but it didn’t feel like a bad touch.
“Then the pedal came back and it was fine all the next corners. Things were looking okay. Then the pedal went long. That was it.”
The Spanish Grand Prix was a bitter, and perhaps final blow to Hamilton’s fading F1 2026 title challenge. The gap to P1 Kimi Antonelli is now 101 points.
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.
You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!
Read next: Winners and losers from the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix
Originally published by Planet F1 —
Read Original Article