Home
Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton cut a disheartened figure following a turbulent start to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend, as practice sessions exposed lingering struggles with his new Ferrari SF-25. The British icon, who swapped Mercedes for the Prancing Horse this season, has endured a rocky 2025 campaign: a tenth-place finish in Australia, a sprint win-turned-disqualification in China, seventh in Japan, and fifth in Bahrain.
Now, as he battles to tame Ferrari’s capricious challenger under Jeddah’s floodlights, Friday’s practice slump—13th in FP2—has left fans and pundits questioning if his Maranello gamble can ever pay off.
Lewis Hamilton’s honest admission after practice
Hamilton’s post-practice candor laid bare his mounting frustrations. When pressed on whether he could claw back performance for qualifying, the veteran’s reply was stark: “Normally Saturday goes backwards, but there’s not a lot of backwards for me to go from where I am.” The grim forecast underscores his uphill battle to adapt to Ferrari’s machinery, which has baffled him since preseason testing.
The crux of the issue? Tire management. “Getting the tyres working today was the problem from my side,” Hamilton admitted, absolving the team of blame.
Ferrari’s SF-25, while aerodynamically potent, has struggled to generate consistent tire temperature—a critical flaw on Jeddah’s high-speed, low-degradation circuit. Lewis Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc experimented with divergent setups during practice, but synchronization remains elusive.
“We’ll work together tonight… possibly converge our approaches,” Hamilton hinted, clinging to hope.
Behind the struggle: Ferrari’s enigmatic SF-25
Hamilton’s woes aren’t isolated. The SF-25’s Jekyll-and-Hyde behavior has perplexed both drivers. In FP1, Hamilton clocked eighth-fastest, only to plummet to 13th in FP2—a session mirroring race conditions. The car’s reluctance to heat its Pirellis on single-lap runs neutralizes Hamilton’s signature qualifying prowess. Meanwhile, Leclerc’s fifth-place championship standing (32 points to Hamilton’s 25) highlights a widening intra-team gap, fueled by setup gambles and unpredictable tire windows.
Ferrari’s engineers face a conundrum: prioritize race pace over one-lap speed, or chase a balance that suits Hamilton’s methodical style. The Briton’s feedback—“There’s a few bits through the session that felt good”—suggests flashes of potential, but cohesion is missing.
A battle for the top 10
Lewis Hamilton’s ambitions have sobered. Once a perennial pole contender, he now targets mere Q3 inclusion. “I’m just trying to see if I can get in the top 10,” he conceded, a jarring shift for a driver with 103 career poles. The SF-25’s tire woes amplify Jeddah’s unique challenges: its 27-turn layout demands rear-end stability under braking, an area where Ferrari lags rivals like Red Bull and McLaren.
Leclerc’s setup experiments—reportedly focusing on rear wing adjustments—could offer clues, but Hamilton remains wary.
“We’ll make some changes overnight… hope tomorrow we can come back stronger,” he stated, though optimism feels forced.
A legacy test
Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari move was billed as a fairytale—a chance to emulate Michael Schumacher’s scarlet success. Instead, it’s morphing into a grind. His 2025 struggles mirror Sebastian Vettel’s turbulent Ferrari stint, where technical dissonance eroded confidence. For Hamilton, the stakes transcend points; it’s about proving he can still bend a car to his will.
As qualifying looms, one truth lingers: in F1, adaptability is as vital as speed. Hamilton’s ability to decode the SF-25—or Ferrari’s capacity to listen—will define this chapter. For now, the seven-time champ soldiers on, chasing whispers of progress in a car that speaks a foreign language.
ADVERTISEMENT
