27/08/2025 07:25
Lewis Hamilton is convinced Ferrari "has absolutely every
ingredient" to succeed despite the negative spiral in which he
found himself before F1's summer break. The wave of positivity
which engulfed Hamilton and the Scuderia earlier this year
following his arrival, has long since disappeared. Aside from a
sprint victory in the second race of the season in China, the
seven-time F1 champion has yet to finish on the podium in 14 grands
prix this year. In contrast, team-mate Charles Leclerc has scored
five. Hamilton hit his nadir for this campaign in Hungary, failing
to finish in the points for the first time since the event in
Shanghai. The 40-year-old vociferously criticised himself,
suggesting there would be "tears" during the summer shutdown in his
attempt to come to terms with his poor form. There is still a
period of adaptation Hamilton is going through with Ferrari, and a
period of realisation for all concerned that not everything can be
transformed in a matter of months. In terms of ensuring everybody
ultimately pulls in the same direction, speaking to the media,
including RacingNews365 , Hamilton said: "It's just trying to
understand the environment that you're in, that you have to adapt.
"And I think the people you work with ultimately will learn to
adapt, to cater to you. "This year, there have been so many great
things, and the response has been amazing to the steps that we have
taken in all areas. "The passion and the desire to continue to do
better is what's the most amazing thing. In this team, everyone
wants to do better and find ways to be better. "That's why I know
this team has absolutely every ingredient that is needed to
succeed. I truly believe in that. That's why I signed." In the
build-up to the Belgian Grand Prix the week previously, Hamilton
had surprisingly revealed to putting together a dossier on where he
felt improvements were required, drawing on his volume of
experience with Mercedes, in particular, where he won six of his
drivers' championships. There followed the added boost of team
principal Fred Vasseur signing a new contract with the team, ending
growing speculation that he could be out of a job at the end of the
season following Ferrari's failure to challenge McLaren this
season. As to whether Vasseur would be in a strong position to act
on them, Hamilton said: "It was just ideas, like, 'Hey, what if we
did this?; Have we tried this? If we did this, perhaps we can ease
up in certain areas, or we can be better. "It's about having
conversations, and Fred has been really responsive."
