Lewis Hamilton shocked the F1 paddock after revealing he would leave Mercedes to join Ferrari. The Brit had hoped the Scuderia would be able to propel the 40-year-old into a championship battle, but this hasn’t happened.
Ferrari has had an underwhelming start to the season with Hamilton struggling to acclimatise to his new car. The Brit has only been able to fight for the minor points so far, and the former Silver Arrows driver now claims Mercedes are faster than his Italian team.
Lewis Hamilton claims Mercedes has “more pace” than Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton has had a disappointing start to the 2025 season. He could only manage P10 in his debut race for the Scuderia in Australia. Despite winning the sprint race in China, Hamilton was off the pace in the main race, crossing the road sixth before being disqualified. In Japan, Hamilton had no pace and finished a lonely seventh. In every grand prix, the Ferrari driver was beaten by a Mercedes.
Speaking after the Japanese GP, Hamilton said: “Mercedes are faster than us, which is why you saw them so close to Charles. They just have more pace than us at the moment. When I was behind him [Kimi Antonelli], he was just so much quicker through certain parts of the circuit – I couldn’t follow.”
“I was at my maximum today and didn’t have anything else in the car. I think I probably would have been overtaken by the Mercedes if I was any further [forward].”
Charles Leclerc Indicates Key Ferrari Upgrades Set for Bahrain Grand Prix
The SF-25 has many issues that the team needs to fix with upcoming upgrades in Bahrain. The car currently has rear instability, which is causing the driver to have low grip. The car is also driven at a low ride height for optimum downforce, which has caused problems with the overall balance. Ferrari hopes the new package in Bahrain will push them up the pecking order.
Lewis Hamilton claims his Ferrari has had an issue
Ferrari hopes that their new underfloor coming for the Bahrain GP will help solve the issue with the SF-25. However, Hamilton claims that his car has had an issue that Ferrari has identified since the opening race in Australia. The seven-time world champion hopes now the problem can be fixed, making him able to compete.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We’ve found something on the car that’s been underperforming for the last three races. So I’m really hoping when that’s fixed, I’ll start getting a bit better results.
Lewis Hamilton Frustrated After Ferrari Debut at Australian GP
“I think it’s just they [Ferrari] are aware of it [the issue], but they don’t know why. When the new component comes, hopefully it will be gone and it will be the same across cars.”
Ferrari finished second in the constructors’ championship last season and expected to fight McLaren for the title again this term. When the new upgrades arrive, they will hope to be on McLaren’s pace. But is it already too late for them? They will need a massive uptake in form to fight in both championships.
