Hamilton on Ferrari adaptation: “I definitely feel more at one with the car”

07:58, 25 May

bySienna Ionta

Lewis Hamilton has opened up about his continued adaptation to life at Ferrari, revealing that he’s beginning to feel increasingly at ease with the SF-25 and is finding his footing within the team. After recent performances, Hamilton has shown clear signs of progress in adapting to a car that differs significantly from what he was used to during his long stint at Mercedes.

Hamilton admitted to media including GPblog that while he is not fully comfortable yet, he is “definitely getting there.” He described the last race as a “really good step” and noted that this Monaco weekend feels like “a quick, steep, lonely curve,” reflecting the challenge of adapting to Ferrari’s car at a difficult track.

Leclerc has an advantage

His teammate Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, has been driving with Ferrari cars since 2019 and knows the setup very well, as he highlights.

"Obviously, Charles has been driving this car for the last six years, at least the way they set the car up here for the last six years so he's fully hits the ground and he knows it like the back of his hand"

Hamilton will be looking to close these gaps as seen in Monaco qualifying, having qualified P4 before his penalty, whilst Leclerc narrowly missed out on pole position to Norris.

"Everything is different"

When asked about the differences compared to his time at Mercedes, Hamilton described the Ferrari’s unique handling and technical traits: “It’s hard to explain. It’s just the characteristics, through corner balance, ride is a lot different, how soft the car is."

"I think when I was at Mercedes the car was very stiff, we were running quite stiff and low to get the downforce, that's where everything's different."

There seems to be strong differences between the Ferrari and Hamilton's previous Mercedes as he continues to explain that,"Everything, tow, cambers, everything's different. The way the engine behaves, engine braking, all these different things, which I've never ever used engine braking here before.".

The seven time world champion's words underline the challenge and excitement of adapting to Ferrari’s machinery as he pushes to close the gap on his teammate and the competition.