Lewis Hamilton says he has complete confidence in his new team, Ferrari, despite a difficult start to the season. Recently, the seven-time champion had tough races in both the Shanghai Grand Prix and the Australian season opener.
Hamilton said: “I saw someone said something about whether I’m losing faith in the team, which is complete rubbish…. I have absolute 100% faith in this team… There was obviously a huge amount of hype at the beginning of the year. I don’t know if everyone was expecting us to be winning from race one and winning the championship in our first year.”
He added: “That wasn’t my expectation. I know that I’m coming into a new culture, a new team and it’s going to take time.”
Ferrari is in fifth place in the constructors’ championship after Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclec were disqualified from fifth and sixth-place finishes in China due to technical violations.
On adjusting with his new team
Hamilton said that there have been challenges when he was adjusting to his new team, most especially when understanding the technicalities of a new car.
The Ferrari driver admitted: “On reflection, I was actually quite happy with how I’ve adapted in just those two races… I’ve definitely got a lot of work to do to make sure that it’s better moving forward.”
“It’s just understanding the technical side of this thing, understanding all the tools that I have. It likes to be driven differently,” he added.
Hamilton also reflected on his previous races and shared: “After analysing the last two races, you’ve got the first race (in Australia)… I generally didn’t feel great in the car at the beginning, but my pace wasn’t too bad in the first two days… And Sunday was the first time I’d ever driven the car in the rain, and I was learning a lot throughout the race.”
He also said that the lack of track time in the pre-season testing in Bahrain had an impact on him, as did missing out on the Abu Dhabi test at the end of 2024. During the test, other drivers had the chance to try the new 2025 tyre designs, which he missed and this had a toll on his preparations for this season.
“Every other driver here got to do Abu Dhabi tests and try the 2025 tyre. I didn’t. When we went into the race run in Bahrain, the car broke down, so I didn’t actually get to do a long run on any of the tyres… So, the sprint race was the first time I’d actually done a 20-lap stint on the tyre… You don’t just put the tyre on and know what it’s going to do. I definitely feel like I was starting to feel the onward effect of not being able to do the test at the end of the year.”
Despite all the mishaps which left Ferrari 61 points behind McLaren in the constructors’ championship, Hamilton’s teammate, Leclerc, remains positive that their team can still have a great season. Leclerc declared: “The season is still very long. Small steps after small steps – we can still have an amazing season.”
In one of Hamilton’s recent social media posts, he shared his win and said: “Today was the first time I felt what it means to win in a Ferrari. I’m so proud and grateful for that moment. We still have so much work to do. We can’t get ahead of ourselves, we know we have to unlock that pace across a weekend. Make no mistake, the taste of winning has made us all even hungrier. We will keep pushing and stay focused.”
Fans showed their support by saying: “Congratulations Lewis. Still we rise. Time to Rule in Red.”, “We are right there with you Sir!! Here’s to the first of many!!”, “We win and lose together ❤️”, and “Always so proud of you Sir❤️❤️ fantastic drive!🐐 We love you so much ❤️”
