Lewis Hamilton ‘can’t blame the car’ in worrying Ferrari admission
A glum Lewis Hamilton says he does not feel any more comfortable in his Ferrari F1 car.
Lewis Hamilton says he did not feel comfortable in his Ferrari F1 car for “one second” during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion’s early struggles at Ferrari continued as he could only manage seventh in Sunday’s race in Jeddah, while teammate Charles Leclerc claimed an impressive podium in third.
Hamilton ran sixth early on after getting past Carlos Sainz’s Williams but was later overtaken by the recovering McLaren of Lando Norris.
The 40-year-old Briton caught Kimi Antonelli in the closing stages but he couldn’t quite get close enough to launch an attack on his Mercedes replacement and ultimately finished where he qualified in P7.
Hamilton looked dejected as he spoke in the TV pen after the race, where he admitted he is still not happy in Ferrari’s 2025 car.
Asked if there was a moment in the race he felt comfortable, Hamilton replied: “No. There wasn’t one second, no.
“Clearly the car is capable of being P3. Charles did a great job today so I can’t blame the car.”
Pushed if he knows why he is struggling to get to grips with the SF-25, Hamilton simply replied: “No.”
More concern for Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton’s latest concerning comments come after he admitted he doesn’t feel like he is making progress in his Ferrari after qualifying.
Hamilton’s qualifying lap was 0.531 seconds slower than Leclerc, who ended up three places further up the grid.
When asked what he needs to get to grips with the Ferrari, he replied: “A brain transplant.”
Aside from Hamilton’s pole position and win in the China sprint race, Leclerc has held the clear upper hand at Ferrari.
"I was very happy with the race,” Leclerc said. “I think we maximised absolutely everything. I'm very happy with what we have done, now we just need to improve the car in order to be fighting further.
"We need to keep pushing. Hopefully upgrades are coming soon in order to improve the car."
Leclerc is fifth in the drivers’ standings on 47 points, while Hamilton is seventh, having scored only 31 points.
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