Hamilton downbeat after 'not fun' Friday in Spain: Here's what went wrong

“Not fun. It’s a beautiful place, the weather has been amazing, but no, not a good day,” said Hamilton summarising his feelings after the first day of on track activity in Spain.

For Hamilton the issue does not lie in a lack of motivation at Ferrari: “I wouldn’t say that I’m motivating the team at the moment. You just keep your head down and keep working away. You just don’t give up. You keep going, you keep pushing, you keep trying to focus on solving the issues, which we’ll try to do."

Hamilton hoped for better and although the SF-25 in qualifying pace was nowhere near its rivals, in race trim it could have the pace for a podium finish, perhaps even a win.