Lewis Hamilton backed by Toto Wolff in ‘hasn’t lost the magic’ verdict
Toto Wolff backs Lewis Hamilton to rediscover his "magic" at Ferrari.
Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff has “no doubt” that Lewis Hamilton will rediscover his old “magic” at Ferrari.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton has endured a difficult start to life at Ferrari since completing his blockbuster switch from Mercedes.
Aside from taking an impressive pole position and victory in the China sprint race, it has been a disappointing campaign so far for Hamilton.
The 40-year-old Briton has been convincingly outperformed by teammate Charles Leclerc and is only seventh in the drivers’ championship, 68 points down on McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
Hamilton has struggled to get to grips with Ferrari’s 2025 challenger and has not managed to finish higher than fifth in a grand prix so far this season.
But Hamilton’s former boss Wolff has backed Hamilton to get back to his best once he has settled at Ferrari.
“I think we saw that magic in the Sprint Race – was it Shanghai? He was completely dominating that race,” Wolff said on Friday at the Miami Grand Prix.
“It’s not like you have the magic in one race and then suddenly you lose the magic in the next one. I very much believe that it’s still there.
“If he aligns all his performance contributors and feels he is in the right space and the car is to his liking, he will be stellar. I have no doubt. But I’m also not surprised it has those road bumps. He was with us 12 years - the way of operating.
“He’s been put in a Ferrari, where his teammate has been a long time. And his team-mate clearly is one of the very good ones. So from the outside and speaking to him, it’s a trajectory any new driver needs to go through in a top team.
Hamilton was unable to compete for pole position in sprint qualifying in Miami and ended up seventh-fastest.
He was once again outpaced by Leclerc, who was sixth and more than three tenths of a second off Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli who beat the McLaren pair to a shock pole.
After the session, Hamilton conceded Ferrari are lacking pace compared to their rivals in Miami.
"It was a better session. P1 was probably a bit better, the car was a bit better, the car was a bit nicer to drive. We are just lacking speed, but we just keep working from there,” he said.
Asked if he can make progress in the sprint, Hamilton replied: “Not really. I think all the cars ahead are faster. I don't know what else to say."
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