Lewis Hamilton has been having a subpar season so far with Ferrari. The Briton made an emphatic move to join the Italian giants after an illustrious stint with Mercedes in the last decade. The Formula 1 legend has failed to secure a single grand prix podium with his new team, although he has come close with several P4 finishes.
It looks like his hunt for a grand prix podium will not come easily at the Hungarian GP as well. He’s coming off good form after making up 11 places at the Belgian GP just a week ago. But he may have to battle it out during qualifying and the race, as the SF-25 still looks to be behind pace.
Lewis Hamilton gets brutally honest on Ferrari’s struggles at Hungarian GP practice
The 7-time champ finished P5 and P6, respectively, during the two practice sessions. He was asked by F1 TV if he had made any progress during FP, but Hamilton shut that down quickly.
Lewis 🗣️ “The race runs showed higher tyre degradation than we’ve seen at recent events, so we’ve got some work to do overnight. There’s plenty of data to analyse, and I’m looking forward to getting back on track tomorrow.”
Full focus on the weekend 🇭🇺
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) August 1, 2025
He said, “Today was not a good day for me, a big, big struggle with the balance of the car and a lot different to the previous years I’ve been here. We tried two different things, we tried rectifying some of the balance problems we had in FP1. We changed the car for FP2 and it’s just inconsistent, very, very inconsistent balance from corner to corner.”
Hamilton points out that it has been difficult to observe whether the car has been having understeer or oversteer. This is a clear indication that the SF-25 has been quite inconsistent on some circuits, especially for Hamilton.
He also mentioned that the inconsistency may be due to tyre temperatures, but believes that the team has some analysis to do before qualifying.
Hamilton makes emotional confession ahead of summer break
The driver spent 12 years with the Silver Arrows. It obviously wouldn’t be easy for any driver to adapt to an entirely new team, let alone someone who has spent their prime years in another surrounding.
Views for days 🤩 @LewisHamilton pic.twitter.com/W7l3fX2Bm2
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) August 1, 2025
Hamilton claimed that he’s looking forward to the break after the Hungarian GP, admitting that the 2025 season has been the most intense one so far.
He said to the media, “The last god knows how many seasons have been hard in their own way. This one has definitely been the most intense one, I would say, just from a work perspective. Integrating into a new culture and into a new team. It’s not gone smoothly in all areas, and it’s been a real battle.”
Hamilton also admitted that he needs to recharge, and there may even be some tears, but acknowledges that it’s for the good. He has been quite vocal about his mental health struggles, and it is interesting to see how he copes with the immense pressure that would crumble most individuals.
