Seven-time Formulation 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has opened up about his early-season difficulties with the Maranello crew and believes these struggles maintain the important thing to understanding why Charles Leclerc had the higher hand throughout the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion admitted that adapting to his new atmosphere has taken time however insists he’s now able to make changes to shut the hole to his teammate.
The 40-year-old crossed the end line in fifth place on the Bahrain Worldwide Circuit, trailing Charles Leclerc by eight seconds. With that consequence, the Monegasque driver prolonged his head-to-head benefit over Lewis Hamilton to 4-0 in Grand Prix races to this point this 12 months.
Regardless of what gave the impression to be one other underwhelming outing for the previous Mercedes star, there have been loads of positives to remove. Hamilton delivered a spirited drive, executing a number of daring overtakes on high rivals similar to Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
His tempo on race day confirmed clear enchancment, and for the primary time since his Dash Race victory in China, Lewis Hamilton seemed genuinely aggressive throughout the high six. That robust displaying has given him confidence and a clearer image of what has held him again.
Reflecting on his efficiency in Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton now believes he understands what has allowed his Maranello teammate to outperform him within the opening rounds. Armed with that perception, the British driver says he plans to refine his method within the coming races in a bid to match—and ultimately surpass—his teammate’s kind.
Lewis Hamilton mirrored on how tough it may be for drivers to interrupt outdated habits, particularly after spending so a few years with the identical crew. He defined that his long-standing driving fashion, developed over greater than a decade with Mercedes, didn’t instantly go well with the traits of his new Ferrari automobile.
The Briton identified that the transition had been difficult as a result of the Ferrari required a totally totally different method—not solely by way of driving method but additionally in automobile settings. For instance, he famous that he saved counting on engine braking, one thing he had hardly ever utilized in earlier seasons. The seven-time F1 world champion additionally talked about the numerous distinction in brake techniques, having used Carbon Industries (CIs) for round 15 years, whereas the present setup—Brembo brakes—demanded a completely totally different really feel and adaptation.
He acknowledged that he’s nonetheless adjusting however felt he was step by step beginning to perceive what the automobile wants, each by way of steadiness and driving enter.
Lewis Hamilton has admitted that carrying over his acquainted Mercedes habits into his debut season with Ferrari hasn’t delivered the specified outcomes to this point within the 2025 Formulation 1 marketing campaign. The seven-time world champion, who boasts 105 Grand Prix victories, is now re-evaluating his method after a difficult begin with the Scuderia.
Following the Bahrain Grand Prix, the 40-year-old revealed that he plans to undertake a extra steady and constant set-up technique, mirroring the method utilized by his team-mate Charles Leclerc. Not like Lewis Hamilton, who’s well-known for experimenting with numerous automobile settings all through a race weekend, Charles Leclerc tends to decide on a working baseline early on and refines it step by step. Lewis Hamilton now believes that adopting the same methodology might present him with a extra stable basis to construct from.
The British driver acknowledged that making an attempt too many modifications has generally left him disconnected from the best efficiency window, particularly when evaluating information with Charles Leclerc. He identified that whereas his team-mate usually sticks with one set-up all through the weekend, his personal changes had typically taken him too far off track, notably in current races.
He admitted that whereas he managed to shut the hole to Charles Leclerc simply earlier than qualifying in Bahrain, their configurations have been nonetheless considerably totally different, which impacted his closing efficiency. Lewis Hamilton careworn the significance of enhancing his method throughout race weekends and expressed confidence that he’s able to doing so. He made it clear that he’s decided to refine his consistency and alignment with the automobile’s calls for transferring ahead.
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