13/04/2025 15:30
Lewis Hamilton has likened his Ferrari to an "alien" whilst
comparing the SF-25 to the Mercedes F1 cars he has become
accustomed to racing. The seven-time drivers' champion has endured
a difficult start to life at the Italian team, despite winning the
sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix. Apart from that triumph, the
40-year-old has just one top five finish across the opening four
rounds, that result coming in the Bahrain Grand Prix. After the
race in Sakhir, the Briton explained why he has found getting to
grips with the Ferrari so difficult, detailing how is he having to
change to suit the characteristics of the red car. "It just feels
so alien," Hamilton told media including RacingNews365 . "It really
does feel so alien. Sometimes I think we all get stuck in our ways,
and very stuck, like, no, I need to keep driving the way I've been
driving. "Just make the car come to me. But that's not working. So
I am adjusting myself now to the car, and also the way with the
tools that they use it just drives so much different. "With all
the ECU controls that we use, I have to use them a lot differently
to what I had last [at Mercedes]." A step in the right direction
However, Hamilton left the Bahrain International Circuit feeling
more upbeat about things, insisting he is becoming more in tune
with his Ferrari. Having qualified ninth, the Italian squad
utilised the offset strategy to vault Hamilton up to fifth,
ultimately finishing just one position behind his team-mate Charles
Leclerc. After the team introduced a new floor this weekend, he was
keen to point out the improvements to the balance of his car.
"Yeah, much more positive, the middle stint I really felt realigned
with the car," the 105-time grand prix winner said. "The balance
finally was in a good spot, and my driving style seemed to be
working in that moment. "So learned a lot from today and this
weekend, actually a lot, probably more than all the other
weekends."
