George Russell pinpoints the issue holding Lewis Hamilton back in Ferrari qualifying sessions
George Russell appeared to encounter the same core problem plaguing Lewis Hamilton’s one-lap pace after a difficult weekend at the 2025 Miami Grand Prix. For the first time this season, George Russell found himself outqualified by his new Mercedes teammate, Kimi Antonelli.
The 18-year-old rising star not only claimed a sensational Sprint pole position but also qualified inside the top three for Sunday’s Grand Prix—two places ahead of George Russell, who had previously maintained a flawless streak of top-five starts. Despite securing another strong grid position, George Russell acknowledged for the first time this season that he felt fundamentally uncomfortable behind the wheel of the W16.
This issue mirrored the persistent struggles of Lewis Hamilton, who continued to underperform in qualifying trim for Ferrari. Although the seven-time Formula 1 world champion managed to secure seventh place in the Sprint—just one position behind teammate Charles Leclerc—he suffered a disappointing Q2 exit during Saturday’s main qualifying session.
That result deepened Lewis Hamilton’s deficit in the intra-team qualifying battle, now trailing Charles Leclerc 5–1. It’s a continuation of the trend from 2024, when Hamilton also frequently lagged behind George Russell during their time together at Mercedes.
George Russell explains why ‘confidence’ is key in qualifying—insight that reflects Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari challenge
In his post-qualifying comments to Sky Sports, Russell underlined the importance of driver confidence when it comes to extracting maximum performance in qualifying. Although his remarks were primarily about his own performance, they could just as easily be applied to Hamilton’s ongoing adaptation issues at Ferrari.
Since joining the Scuderia, the Briton has struggled to find faith in the SF-25’s handling, especially over a single flying lap. His own comments over recent months have been telling; Lewis Hamilton previously admitted that he no longer felt “fast” and has continued to express doubts about his form and the car’s unpredictability.
Damon Hill has suggested that part of Hamilton’s struggle stems from an incomplete adjustment to Ferrari’s braking system, which uses Brembo components rather than the familiar systems he used at Mercedes. This switch appears to be unsettling him under heavy braking—a critical factor in qualifying—where he locked up twice during key flying laps in Miami.
Hamilton later told Sky Sports that he was “struggling big time” and described the car’s behaviour as “so inconsistent.” No matter what setup changes the team tried, the car failed to respond predictably. That lack of feedback has seemingly left Lewis Hamilton unsure of what the car will do at corner entry, creating hesitation at exactly the moment where full commitment is required.
Miami Grand Prix adds another low point to Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari journey
The Miami Grand Prix marked another unwanted statistic for Hamilton, who has now gone four races without a podium finish in Florida—a track that continues to elude him. While he has twice finished inside the top three in Sprint races, he’s yet to celebrate with champagne in a Sunday feature race since joining Ferrari.
Even teammate Charles Leclerc seemed perplexed by the Ferrari’s handling last weekend, describing it as one of the team’s weakest showings since the season opener in Australia. Although the Monegasque had previously claimed to have found a workaround for the car’s inherent limitations through his driving style, that solution also failed to deliver results in Miami.
With both Ferrari drivers continuing to face performance inconsistencies and Hamilton still searching for a breakthrough qualifying session, questions persist about how quickly the Scuderia can close the gap to the front runners. Until Hamilton regains confidence in his car—and in himself—his struggle for one-lap pace is likely to remain a defining story of Ferrari’s 2025 Formula 1 campaign.
Leave a Reply