Lewis Hamilton hits back at "rumours, judgements" about Ferrari woe
Lewis Hamilton is yet to finish higher than fifth in a grand prix this year.
Lewis Hamilton says he is ‘having to remind himself’ that he is a seven-time Formula 1 champion as pressure mounts on him to turn around his performances at Ferrari.
Hamilton’s high-profile move to the Italian team this year hasn’t been as successful as many had imagined, with the Briton struggling to gel with the SF-25 in the opening seven flyaway races.
While an early victory in the sprint race in China made headlines around the world, he has mostly been unable to match the speed of his teammate and long-time Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc.
The 40-year-old’s job has been made tougher by Ferrari lagging behind its front-running rivals, with its 2025 F1 challenger even proving to be slower than the Williams FW47 in Miami.
Lewis Hamilton bullish at F1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
Ahead of Ferrari’s first home race of the year in Imola, Hamilton stressed that it is important to remember that he is statistically the greatest F1 driver of all time.
"The other thing I often find myself having to remind myself [is] I have won seven world titles," Hamilton was quoted by ESPN. "I have won more than any other driver in history.
"I have to remind myself I also have done great things and whilst things are not always going to be great and we're [Ferrari] having this period of time, things will get better."
Hamilton’s inability to extract the maximum performance out of a less-than-competitive SF-25 has led to all sorts of theories, including from people within the paddock.
Some believe that ground-effect cars do not suit his style, given he has failed to mount a title assault since the chassis rules were last overhauled in 2022.
Hamilton dismissed any speculation about his competitive struggles at Ferrari, saying “[There are] so many rumours, there are so many people making assumptions, comments, judgments".
“99 per cent of them don't actually know really what's going on.
"99 per cent or probably 100 per cent of them don't know what I've been through, to get where I am today."
