Ferrari’s Patience Tested as Lewis Hamilton’s Early 2025 F1 Struggles Raise Internal Questions
Five race weekends into his highly anticipated switch to Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton’s start to the 2025 Formula 1 season has been far from the seamless transition fans and the team at Maranello might have hoped for. While his Sprint Race victory in Shanghai briefly raised optimism, it now appears to be an outlier rather than the beginning of a consistent resurgence.
After a tough debut in Melbourne, Lewis Hamilton’s Chinese Sprint win was seen by many within Ferrari as a promising sign that the seven-time world champion was adapting quickly to the radically different environment of Maranello. Hamilton had reportedly devoted extensive time at Ferrari’s headquarters during the off-season, familiarizing himself with a new engineering culture, operational protocols, and an unfamiliar car philosophy following his long tenure at Mercedes and earlier years with McLaren.
However, the momentum gained in Shanghai didn’t translate into lasting form. His disqualification from the main race in China—despite being blameless—symbolized the string of misfortune that seems to be following him this season. His performance in Jeddah, where he qualified and finished seventh, further underlined his current inconsistency. Although he managed to hold off Carlos Sainz, the man he replaced at Ferrari, and yielded position only to Lando Norris, the race did little to shift the narrative around his struggles.
Martin Brundle, speaking on Sky Sports F1 before the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, provided insight into how Ferrari now privately views Lewis Hamilton’s integration process. In a pre-race media briefing, Brundle relayed that Ferrari had used an interesting analogy when discussing Hamilton’s adjustment phase. According to the team, adapting to the SF-25 was akin to putting on someone else’s ice skates or skis—awkward and unfamiliar at first, requiring patience and time before finding balance and confidence.
This metaphor, shared during a private conversation with Martin Brundle and David Croft, revealed Ferrari’s view that Hamilton’s challenges are less about raw pace and more about acclimating to a different style of engineering and feedback response. It’s a perspective that signals Ferrari’s internal understanding, but also underscores the high expectations that come with having a legend like Lewis Hamilton in their ranks.
The Sky Sport pundit went on to address the contradiction many fans have pointed out: how could Hamilton win the Sprint Race in China if he’s supposedly struggling so much with the car? He explained that the shorter, lower-fuel Sprint format allowed Hamilton to get out in front early and manage clean air—conditions under which the Briton has always excelled. Brundle described that performance as “vintage Hamilton,” noting that it gave the illusion of a breakthrough. However, the longer Grand Prix format, with its greater tire and fuel management demands, has since exposed ongoing discomfort and inconsistency.
Despite these teething issues, the Briton does benefit from a key Ferrari strength that no other team has matched this season—consistently elite pit stop execution. In Saudi Arabia, Lewis Hamilton’s stop was completed in just 2.1 seconds, and Charles Leclerc’s was even faster. While pit stops didn’t alter the outcome in Jeddah, Ferrari has recorded the fastest service times at every race so far this year, a detail that could soon become decisive in closely fought battles.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has expressed disappointment with the team’s qualifying efforts in recent rounds but continues to back Hamilton publicly. He has suggested that the 40-year-old’s adaptation may simply require more time, noting the significant differences between Ferrari and his previous teams. However, Formula 1 rarely affords drivers the luxury of patience—especially not with a talented teammate like Charles Leclerc consistently delivering results.
Martin Brundle himself appeared unconvinced that time alone would resolve the issue. Drawing comparisons to younger drivers like Oliver Bearman, who adapted almost immediately during a one-off appearance in 2024, he emphasized that while Hamilton’s case is different, experience should make adaptation quicker, not slower.
Unlike reserve drivers or rookies facing uncertainty about their future, Hamilton enjoys job security and the full backing of the team for now. With 19 races still to run, there is ample opportunity for him to close the performance gap to the Monegasque driver and reestablish himself as a consistent front-runner. But the pressure is mounting—not just from outside but increasingly from within Ferrari, where expectations remain sky-high.
As the 2025 Formula 1 season progresses, it will be up to Hamilton to prove that his adjustment period was just a phase—and not the start of a prolonged struggle in red.
Apr 23, 2025
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