Lewis Hamilton said that Ferrari has made improvements this season, although it has not improved the team's overall track performance and outcomes. He also talked about the possibility of his improvement in terms of the car and its drivability.
The British racer's move to the Italian team coincided with Ferrari delivering what Hamilton terms a "snappy" car. It remained inconsistent throughout the season's first half and is still uncompetitive compared to its competitors. Lewis Hamilton has failed to finish any race better than P4 in any race (apart from the Sprint in China), and the struggle was once again visible in Baku.
The team led the way during the second free practice session during the Azerbaijan GP, although qualifying once again witnessed Hamilton with an early exit in Q2. His teammate, Charles Leclerc, kicked off the race in P10 after a crash during his final run.
Talking about the car and his diving style, Hamilton mentioned that he can possibly be more aggressive with the car; he claimed that he has no confidence in its braking power.
"I think there’s still some improvements to make in terms of how aggressive I can be," Hamilton said (via Motorsport Week). "The car has been quite snappy, so still not 100% confident under braking when I’m attacking on the brakes."
He further said that the car has also improved, however, the results are not visible on track during races.
"In the last race, I was, but in this race, didn’t feel it so much with the setup that we ended up having. It’s kind of crazy, because we’ve been progressing yet we’ve not had results, really in the last few races. But there’s not like no progress so I think we’re able to do a good weekend and a good result."
Thinking about the SF-25's performance, Ferrari is in urgent need of an upgrade; however, they have shifted most of their focus to next year's car.