Lewis Hamilton may have only just begun his Ferrari journey, but he’s already delivered a victory — clinching the Sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix from pole position. While his ultimate goal remains a full Grand Prix win on Sunday, his early success marks a significant milestone in his career with the Scuderia.
Despite that moment of triumph, Hamilton has faced challenges during full race weekends. In Australia, he qualified only eighth for his Ferrari debut and crossed the finish line in 10th place, struggling to make headway through the midfield. Following the high of his Shanghai Sprint victory, Hamilton couldn’t replicate the pace on Sunday and made the tactical decision to yield to his faster teammate, Charles Leclerc. Although he initially finished sixth, he was later disqualified due to excessive plank wear — a frustrating setback in his campaign.
The difficulties continued at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, where Hamilton again qualified eighth, this time four places behind Leclerc. He managed to overtake rookie Isack Hadjar but spent most of the race in clean air, ultimately finishing a distant seventh, with Mercedes’ young replacement Kimi Antonelli outpacing him in an eye-catching performance.
Heading into the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend, Lewis Hamilton finds himself eighth in the Drivers’ Championship standings. Yet despite the on-track struggles, his influence within Ferrari is already being felt off-track. During a recent episode of the Beyond the Grid podcast, Ferrari ambassador Marc Gené praised the Briton’s immediate impact during technical briefings, highlighting his growing role behind the scenes.
Lewis Hamilton’s behind-the-scenes influence already benefiting Ferrari
Although Lewis Hamilton is still adapting to his new environment, he’s begun integrating quickly. Over the winter, he drove Ferrari’s 2023 and 2024 machinery during Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) sessions at the Circuit de Catalunya and Fiorano. He also participated in around one and a half days of pre-season testing in Bahrain, though his mileage was limited due to mechanical issues.
Now that he’s reached the limit of his TPC allocation, Lewis Hamilton is feeling the constraints of modern F1’s cost-cap era, which restricts how much a driver can test. Ferrari remain confident that once he’s fully settled into the team and the SF-25, the seven-time Formula 1 world champion’s full potential will emerge — but when that will happen remains uncertain.
In the meantime, Ferrari have been proactive in adjusting to Lewis Hamilton’s preferences. Over the winter, the team modified his driving position, as he prefers to sit further back in the cockpit. They also tailored his steering wheel to better suit his handling style — a small but telling example of their commitment to making him feel at home.
Marc Gené emphasized the British driver’s exemplary approach to working with the Maranello team, noting that the 40-year-old Briton is already contributing valuable insights during debriefs and technical discussions. His feedback and preparation have been described as “very important,” reinforcing the view within Maranello that Lewis Hamilton’s presence brings more than just driving talent — it brings leadership, experience, and a championship mindset.
Marc Gene acknowledged that it was still early days in getting to know Lewis Hamilton, but stressed that nobody could question the Briton’s talent. The former Ferrari test driver noted Hamilton’s vast experience and pointed out that it was clear he understood exactly what he needed, which, according to Gene, explained the significant progress made between Melbourne and China.
He went on to say that switching teams in modern Formula 1 is extremely difficult due to limited testing opportunities, and that adapting to new dynamics and equipment like the steering wheel takes time. Nevertheless, Marc Gene highlighted that even at this early stage, Hamilton was already providing very important insights during team briefings.
The Maranello team are set to debut a new floor upgrade at this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, marking a crucial step in their early-season development push. While the modification could provide a performance boost, recent trends suggest it might take some time before the Scuderia can fully unlock its potential on track.
The 2025 Formula 1 drivers’ championship is already shaping up to be a fierce contest between Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri, who have emerged as the standout performers. Although Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton remain in contention, both drivers currently trail the lead trio by over 40 points—a significant gap even at this stage of the season.
With Red Bull and McLaren consistently delivering strong results, Ferrari now face added pressure to make their latest technical updates count. While the team continues to extract solid performances from its SF-25 chassis, they appear—on raw pace—to be the fourth-fastest outfit in the field. Some metrics might rank them third, especially when considering the uneven performances of Red Bull’s two drivers, but consistency remains an issue.
If Ferrari hope to re-enter the title conversation—both in the drivers’ and constructors’ championships—this Bahrain upgrade could prove vital. The team will be watching closely to see whether the revised floor can help close the gap to their closest rivals or if further development will be required in the coming rounds.
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