The English driver seemed to have found better synergy with the car after the summer break, but recent races have halted that progress. The unstable rear of a struggling SF-25 in Qatar has resurfaced the same issues Lewis Hamilton faced at the start of the year, eroding confidence and increasing his gap to the front.
Since the second half of the season began, Lewis Hamilton appeared to have made significant steps forward with the SF-25, a car he has never truly mastered. Transitioning to a new team naturally requires an adaptation period, both technically and personally, and these improvements seemed to emerge after the summer break.
“I think the relationship with Lewis, and what we are building with him, is very positive. He spent ten years in the same team, with the same people, and after ten months I believe we already have a strong bond with him. However, the frustration and results are creating a perception of us, and of him at Ferrari, that I think is far worse than it really is,” explained Matteo Togninalli.
Indeed, these improvements did not always translate into concrete results, but the growth trend remained clear. In the last two races, however, this progression has stalled. Lewis Hamilton seemed to take a step back of several months, driven by a SF-25 in severe difficulty, which in Qatar is failing to inspire confidence in either of the two drivers.
Certainly, in Las Vegas, the rain disrupted things, but even then, the race pace was not particularly convincing. In Qatar, however, the picture is much clearer: the Lusail circuit, with its many supporting corners, has exposed precisely the problems Hamilton suffered in the early part of the championship.
This was evident from the first laps, with a complete lack of confidence in the SF-25’s rear, reflected clearly in his lap times. Shortly before qualifying, Lewis Hamilton opted at the last minute to fit a higher downforce rear wing in an attempt to regain stability. However, the modification did not produce the desired effect.
Before the Sprint Race, a different approach was attempted, aimed more at gathering useful data for the parc fermé reopening. During the Sprint, the seven-time world champion made himself available to the team, testing “extreme” adjustments and setups on the steering wheel to provide valuable feedback. Yet the sensations remained negative: it was no surprise that, at the end of the race, Pierre Gasly told him the SF-25 felt “horrible” in its behavior.
For Saturday qualifying, another approach was taken, but many limitations remained despite slight improvements. In all corners requiring precise entry and a rear capable of supporting the car, Lewis Hamilton could not find the confidence to carry speed both on entry and mid-corner, reawakening the ghosts that limited him at the start of the year.
This is clearly seen in the Q1 comparison with his teammate, who is usually more comfortable managing an unstable rear. Here, the Ferrari showed significant understeer, combined with a rear prone to sliding that, when rotating mid-corner, risks surprising the driver and causing mistakes.
It is no coincidence that in corners such as 4/5, 7, and the fast sequence 14/15 (where on Friday he kept a higher gear on team instructions to reduce sliding), Lewis Hamilton recorded a significant gap. Adding bouncing even on medium-speed sections, which affected several teams here, made the car even harder to manage.
In effect, the problems Lewis Hamilton is experiencing are the same faced by Charles Leclerc, with a car oscillating between bouncing and unstable balance, alternating between understeer and oversteer depending on the corner phase—but even more pronounced for Lewis Hamilton. While Charles Leclerc manages to cope with a wobbly rear within limits, for Hamilton the lack of stability becomes an insurmountable obstacle, reflecting a Ferrari in free fall.
Here lies the core issue. Charles Leclerc managed to “patch up” the situation and get the car into Q3, but the SF-25’s overall limitations in Qatar remain evident, even after a complete setup overhaul, particularly due to a lack of downforce, a deficit previously noted in other races. This shortfall is especially noticeable on Lusail’s surface, even when running at lower ride heights.
The most telling indication of difficulty is that Ferrari has made the least progress on a single lap compared to 2024. This limitation weighs even more on Lewis Hamilton, who struggles to adapt to the SF-25’s stability problems. The situation seems to have taken him back to the start of the season, both in terms of feeling and lap deficit: just over three-tenths behind his teammate.
Such a small margin can now cost several grid positions, particularly if the car is already uncompetitive. It is as if Lewis Hamilton has returned to fighting the same ghosts from early in the year: a car that does not support him, a rear that provides no confidence, and a path that feels like a regression rather than a progression.
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