20/07/2025 19:05
Lewis Hamilton's struggles at Ferrari in 2025 have been
well-documented following his bombshell move from Mercedes. After
the biggest driver transfer in F1 history, Hamilton is yet to
record a grand prix podium for Ferrari in 12 races, and has not
been able to get on top of his new surroundings, after 12 seasons
at Mercedes. The one bright spot was victory from pole in the
Chinese Grand Prix sprint race and another third in the Miami
sprint, but Hamilton has not been able to match team-mate Charles
Leclerc. There have been signs that Hamilton is slowly making
progress after moving towards Leclerc's set-up in recent races,
coinciding with him out-qualifying the Monegasque in three out of
the last four races, and has been in the top six in all of the last
six grands prix. But the adjustment period from Mercedes has been
greater than anyone expected, as Sky Sports Italy F1 expert Matteo
Bobbi has detailed just where things are going wrong for Hamilton
with the traits of the SF-25. "Hamilton was clearly used to driving
a certain kind of car, with specific characteristics," Bobbi
exclusively told RacingNews365. "When he joined Ferrari at the
beginning of the season, people said that Leclerc and Hamilton like
the same characteristics, but that is not true, because they drive
very differently. "Leclerc needs a strong front end; he can drive
with a light rear, as long as the front is strong. If the car does
not have that characteristic, he does not perform at all. "Hamilton
requires exactly the opposite, of course, he too needs a strong
front end, because everyone has that, but he needs a strong rear
end, especially on corner entry. "Leclerc brakes very late, but
Hamilton does so even later, he also uses more braking force at
force, which means he needs a very strong rear end, otherwise he
loses the rear on turn in. "So they both need very different
characteristics of the car, and this year's Ferrari seems
especially very strong at the front, but not at all at the rear, so
that's why Hamilton is struggling, especially during qualifying."
Renowned as a late braker, Hamilton was able to maximise this at
Mercedes through its use of Carbon Industrie brake pads and discs.
However, at Ferrari, the team uses Brembo instead of CI, another
factor in Hamilton's struggles. "But that's point one, because the
second point is the brakes," Bobbi continued. "I'm not saying
Carbon Industrie is better or worse than Brembo, but the two have
clear differences. "Leclerc is used to Brembo and can extract the
maximum from it, but Hamilton still has to adapt to the
characteristics of Brembo. We're talking mainly about the 'bite' of
the brakes." The article continues below. Yet another problem for
Ferrari to overcome One complaint from both drivers across the
season has been a lack of confidence in the car in qualifying, with
the SF-25 proving a faster race car than over a single lap. The
reason for this, Bobbi believes can be traced back to 2024 and a
demand from Leclerc and then team-mate Carlos Sainz. "At
Silverstone, Leclerc spoke to journalists about a problem that both
he and Hamilton are suffering from, which comes from the power
steering," he added. "Last year, Leclerc, along with Carlos Sainz,
also had problems because one wanted more help from the power
steering than the other, so the engineering team had to design the
power steering. They created a design that is probably too
aggressive, and it is too much for the drivers. "When the driver is
on the limit in a fast corner, especially where they reach four or
five G-forces, they don't feel the car anymore because the power
steering is providing too much assistance. "That really only
happens when they drive at the limit during qualifying. "When they
slow down during the race, they can adjust to the power steering.
The brain is not fully focused on the limit, and then they have
room to adjust their steering to the power steering. "But that's
very difficult to fix. Once you've designed the power steering,
it's difficult to adjust it, so they have to keep this system for
now, and that's another thing Hamilton doesn't like at all.
"During testing in Bahrain, he was clear after a few laps that he
was not happy with it. He literally said, 'What the hell is that
power steering?', and since then it has been a big problem for
Ferrari."
