The highly anticipated collaboration between seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton and Scuderia Ferrari promised fireworks and a potential championship charge in the 2025 Formula One season. However, the reality has been far more complex. The performance of the Ferrari SF-25 has failed to meet expectations, dampening early enthusiasm and raising serious concerns inside the Maranello-based outfit. Now, Lewis Hamilton has revealed what he believes to be the car’s most critical shortcoming.
Hamilton officially joined Ferrari in January, meaning he has now spent over six months working closely with the team. Early-season optimism gave way to a tougher reality as the Italian team encountered several unexpected technical problems with their 2025 car. While Ferrari had hoped that the arrival of such an experienced and decorated driver would elevate their performance, the results so far have not met those ambitions.
Lewis Hamilton remains without a race win or even a podium finish in the 2025 Formula One World Championship. His only moment of triumph came during the Sprint Race in China earlier in the season, but that success appears to have been more of an exception than a sign of consistent competitiveness. Since then, the SF-25 has struggled to deliver the performance needed to challenge for victories.
At the same time, the British driver has yet to fully integrate himself into the new environment. After over a decade with Mercedes-AMG Petronas, adapting to the vastly different characteristics of Ferrari’s car and team culture has proven challenging. Above all, Hamilton has struggled to develop the right “feeling” with the SF-25. Only during his home Grand Prix at Silverstone did he seem to extract more performance from the car, although there is still a long road ahead to fully resolve Ferrari’s issues.
One key aspect Lewis Hamilton highlighted earlier this season was the engine braking system, which operates differently compared to what he was used to at Mercedes. The British driver initially found it difficult to adapt, as he had never relied on such a system before. However, he has shown notable progress in the last few races.
In terms of pure qualifying pace, Hamilton has shown signs of improvement. He managed to outqualify his teammate Charles Leclerc in three of the last four Grands Prix, even coming within a tenth of a second of him in Austria. He also secured two consecutive fourth-place finishes in the main races held at Spielberg and Silverstone, indicating a slow but steady upward trend.
Behind the scenes, Ferrari is working intensively on a significant update package focused on the rear suspension system. The team hopes this development will help solve the persistent ride height issues that have compromised the car’s aerodynamic efficiency. A lower ride height would enhance ground effect and could allow both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to extract more downforce and performance from the SF-25.
Despite those efforts, Lewis Hamilton has now identified another major limitation that is affecting the car’s competitiveness. According to the British driver, one of the most significant issues is the understeer experienced at low speeds — a characteristic that appears to be fundamentally embedded in the current design of the SF-25.
“We are dealing with understeer at low speed — it’s an intrinsic feature of this car,” Lewis Hamilton told the media, pointing to a key area where the car’s handling compromises overall performance.
“I think we’re overcompensating to try to find more lap time,” he explained. “But when it comes to pure race pace, the car is as quick as the front-runners. Probably, we are pushing things a bit too far, and that makes the car feel a little edgy. So we need to work on finding more consistent performance.”
As the 2025 Formula 1 season heads into its second half, Ferrari’s challenge remains twofold: adapt the car to suit Hamilton’s driving style while also ironing out the structural weaknesses in the SF-25. Only then can the Italian squad hope to mount a genuine challenge at the front — and deliver the results that Lewis Hamilton and the Tifosi were dreaming of at the start of the season.
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