How long should it take Hamilton and Sainz to adjust to their new teams? Both drivers weigh in

Both Hamilton and Sainz are not only adjusting to new teams but also facing the added challenge of adapting to entirely different power units. For Hamilton, it's his first experience with Ferrari’s engine setup, while Sainz is learning the ins and outs of Mercedes power for the first time.

Despite this, 105-time Grand Prix winner Hamilton has done a great job in both sprint races so far in 2025. The Brit won in China and finished third in Miami, but has failed to make the same impact in the races.

"I can’t really explain it too much," he began in Miami. "In the Sprint race, there’s not a huge amount of changes you make. I think the one thing to take from it is that we didn’t make a lot of changes – if any – going from P1 to quali, whereas on all the other weekends we’ve been tinkering with the car and making it worse."

Carlos Sainz previously stated that it was not possible to come to a new team and be two to three-tenths quicker than their established partner. In response, Hamilton said: "I mean, there are elements of that that are true. But it’s different for everyone."

Sainz is in a similar position to Hamilton, openly admitting that his adjustment phase may take slightly longer. "I've told them and I think I've said many times that we still have a few bumps along the way in the adaptation process because you still need to discover a few things. Five races is not enough to discover your strengths and weaknesses or things that may catch you by surprise, but I think we're trending in the right direction and that's the important thing."

How long should this adjustment to a new team take? It's not an easy answer as things are constantly evolving in Formula 1, but Sainz answered thoroughly. "It's a tricky question because it depends. It depends on how naturally the car comes to you. It depends on how natural the relationship with the engineers and that blend comes.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz haven't had the easiest start to life at their new teams, but it could've been much worse for both. Lewis Hamilton sits in seventh place in the driver's championship with 41 points while Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, who has been with the team since 2019, sits on 53 points.

Sainz struggled to adjust at Williams but has now started to find his feet. The experienced Spaniard has scored seven points so far this season. Still, teammate Alex Albon has scored 30 points and has been with Williams since the 2022 season. Both drivers are still actively learning their new cars and as well as understand how the power units function.