That Lewis Hamilton’s competitiveness wouldn’t instantly attain distinctive ranges as soon as he joined Ferrari was one thing your complete paddock had already largely taken under consideration. In any case, it couldn’t have been in any other case for a driver who, after 12 years, not solely modified groups but additionally his total life-style—shifting from England to Italy is just not easy, each when it comes to work strategies and, above all, each day routine.
This weekend seems to have notably unsettled the Briton, who even throughout qualifying appeared to nonetheless be trying to find concord along with his SF-25—one thing he hasn’t discovered because the very first laps on Friday. After narrowly avoiding elimination in Q2 by simply 7 thousandths forward of Alexander Albon, Lewis Hamilton was dealt a harsh blow in Q3: he was six tenths slower than Charles Leclerc—a heavy verdict at the beginning of a season proving extra difficult than anticipated.
The SF-25 isn’t serving to
For a driver, confidence within the automotive is crucial to push it to the restrict, particularly on a circuit like Jeddah, the place speeds are unusually excessive for a avenue observe. The SF-25 is a automotive born with particular shortcomings, notably in gradual sections: a transparent instance is the flip 1-2 sequence, the place the Maranello automotive loses two tenths in comparison with the opposite high groups, rating because the second-worst performer in that space.
Ferrari’s issues are confirmed by the difficulties even Charles Leclerc has to deal with, although he manages to compensate within the following sectors of the observe. The Monegasque is actually probably the greatest qualifiers on the grid—that’s nothing new—however a niche of over half a second can’t be defined solely by his expertise and the automotive’s deficiencies.
Has the British driver misplaced his edge on a single lap? The comparability with Charles Leclerc (and George Russell)
The seven-time world champion has by no means absolutely tailored to this technology of ground-effect vehicles, one thing already noticeable throughout his three years alongside George Russell at Mercedes. Since arriving at Ferrari, the pattern has worryingly continued—apart from a flash of brilliance in China.
Setting apart the truth that at the moment will mark his fortieth consecutive Grand Prix with out a pole (his longest drought ever), the comparability along with his final two teammates is placing, given the caliber of a driver like Lewis Hamilton. In 2024, Russell has outqualified him 19 instances in 24 classes, with a median hole of two tenths. Based mostly on the information from the graphic beneath, the hole will increase to a few tenths when in comparison with Leclerc.
The sunshine has gone out
Let’s be clear: nobody anticipated—or demanded—to see the seven-time Formulation 1 world champion instantly inside just a few thousandths of Charles Leclerc, and even forward. However it’s plain that the a number of World Champion is struggling—in all probability greater than Ferrari had anticipated.
Elevating some questions can be Lewis Hamilton’s demeanor, which has modified drastically in comparison with pre-season testing. That preliminary spark already appears to have light, as famous by Ivan Capelli on Sky Sport: “The engineers have the instruments to guage him, however from the skin we see a Lewis Hamilton who by no means seems to be aggressive… he appears to be affected by the automotive, his traces are at all times filled with corrections. Lewis is a driver who has taken pole in Jeddah and is aware of properly the place to search out the pace. But at the moment, he appears to lack feeling and may’t put collectively a clear lap.”
Greater than ever, it’s essential to rapidly determine the basis of the issue, contemplating we’re on the verge of the fifth race and the primary third of the 2025 Formulation 1 season is almost over. Quickly, it’ll not be acceptable to write down every part off as a “easy interval of adaptation” to Ferrari.
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