Lewis Hamilton is now 12 rounds into his career at Ferrari, but the hopes that met his move to Maranello faded rapidly after the Briton’s career-worst start to an F1 season.
Never before Hamilton put on the Scuderia’s iconic red overalls had the 40-year-old failed to get a single podium through the first 10 Grands Prix of an F1 season. The Stevenage native’s best finishes for the pride of Italy are his P4 results at Imola and in Austria and Great Britain.
His move to Ferrari has even now seen Hamilton fail to score more than 100 points from the first 12 Grands Prix since the current points format was introduced in 2010. It is far from the dreams the Tifosi held for 2025, as Ferrari believed they would be title contenders this year.
Hamilton currently only boasts 103 points to sit sixth in the F1 drivers’ championship ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix on July 25-27. Of those points, the seven-time champion recorded 14 from F1 Sprints after Hamilton won the China Sprint and achieved P3 in the Miami Sprint.
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‘Insiders’ fear that Lewis Hamilton will not adapt to Ferrari and the Scuderia’s car
A host of factors have helped to cause Hamilton’s problems since moving from Mercedes to Ferrari this year. While Hamilton’s hunger to win an eighth F1 title remains intense, the 105-time Grand Prix winner has struggled to adapt to Ferrari’s unique ways and also to their car.
Hamilton has urged Ferrari to change their methods as the 104-time Grand Prix polesitter is still struggling to adjust to their technical approach and terminology. Additionally, Hamilton has struggled with Ferrari’s power steering as a slight delay in the input impacts his braking.
But while the 202-time Grand Prix podium finisher wants changes in Maranello, Formula1.it reports that ‘various insiders’ fear that Hamilton ‘doesn’t appear capable’ of overcoming his problems at Ferrari. He has also seemed ‘overwhelmed’ by the challenge of adapting in red.
Hamilton himself has admitted to facing difficulties adapting to Ferrari and the SF-25 since moving from Mercedes. But the time it is taking statistically the most successful driver in F1 history to overcome the challenges is raising alarm, as his wait for a podium in red persists.
Ferrari’s rear suspension upgrade at the Belgian Grand Prix could help Hamilton to adapt
Hamilton will hope that the rear suspension upgrade Ferrari plan to debut at the Belgian GP can help him to at least overcome his problems adapting to the SF-25 when F1 visits Spa on July 25-27. The Scuderia hope the update will make their car less sensitive to its ride height.
The SF-25’s unpredictable rear-end has been one of the main reasons behind the time it has taken Hamilton to adjust to Ferrari’s car. It has also been claimed that Ferrari’s upgraded rear suspension will be worth one tenth of a second, which can be huge given the field is so tight.
Shaving only a tenth of a second off his lap time in Q3 at Silverstone last time out could have put Hamilton P2 on the grid at the British Grand Prix, rather than P5. He set a 1:25.095 after Ferrari’s Q3 engine mode failed Hamilton at Silverstone to Oscar Piastri’s 1:24.995 lap for P2.
