Lewis Hamilton’s difficulty in adjusting to Ferrari is one of the main talking points within the team. The British driver has generally never had a particularly strong connection with the new generation of ground-effect cars. At this stage, Charles Leclerc is clearly making the difference, appearing to have found a driving style that gets the best out of the SF-25.
Lewis Hamilton showcased his skills only during the Sprint Race at the Chinese Grand Prix. On that occasion, the car may not have been the fastest on track, but it was certainly very well balanced. That key factor allowed the seven-time Formula 1 world champion to take pole position and win the Sprint, managing the race exactly as he wanted. In the rest of the events, however, the gap to his teammate has raised questions over his performance.
Lewis Hamilton’s struggles
According to Alex Brundle, son of F1 commentator Martin Brundle, Lewis Hamilton’s difficulty in adapting to the Ferrari is evident in the data. Analyzing his behaviour in high-speed corners, Hamilton tends to use the brakes more than his teammate. The discrepancy between the two is most visible in these situations, and the significant gap seen in Jeddah could be due to the number of high-speed turns on the Saudi circuit.
A similar trend was observed in past seasons at Mercedes from 2022 onwards when comparing Hamilton with George Russell. Now Hamilton faces a major challenge: adapting his driving style to suit the current-generation cars, despite his vast experience.
In the opening races of the 2025 Formula 1 season, even Carlos Sainz struggled initially with Williams but has since found a rhythm. Hamilton remains a world-class driver and, together with the team, will surely work to solve the issue.
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