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 end result, the Monegasque driver prolonged his head-to-head benefit over Lewis Hamilton to 4-0 in Grand Prix races to date this yr.
Regardless of what seemed 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 opponents akin 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 regarded genuinely aggressive throughout the high six. That sturdy exhibiting 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 strategy within the coming races in a bid to match—and ultimately surpass—his teammate’s type.
Lewis Hamilton mirrored on how troublesome it may be for drivers to interrupt previous 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 automotive.
The Briton identified that the transition had been difficult as a result of the Ferrari required a totally totally different strategy—not solely by way of driving approach but in addition in automotive settings. For instance, he famous that he stored counting on engine braking, one thing he had not often utilized in earlier seasons. The seven-time F1 world champion additionally talked about the numerous distinction in brake programs, 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 progressively beginning to perceive what the automotive 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 date within the 2025 Formulation 1 marketing campaign. The seven-time world champion, who boasts 105 Grand Prix victories, is now re-evaluating his strategy 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 strategy utilized by his team-mate Charles Leclerc. In contrast to Lewis Hamilton, who’s well-known for experimenting with varied automotive settings all through a race weekend, Charles Leclerc tends to choose a working baseline early on and refines it progressively. Lewis Hamilton now believes that adopting an identical methodology may present him with a extra stable basis to construct from.
The British driver acknowledged that making an attempt too many modifications has typically left him disconnected from the perfect efficiency window, particularly when evaluating knowledge with Charles Leclerc. He identified that whereas his team-mate sometimes sticks with one set-up all through the weekend, his personal changes had usually taken him too far astray, significantly in latest races.
He admitted that whereas he managed to shut the hole to Charles Leclerc simply earlier than qualifying in Bahrain, their configurations had been nonetheless considerably totally different, which impacted his last efficiency. Lewis Hamilton confused the significance of enhancing his strategy 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 automotive’s calls for transferring ahead.
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