15/06/2025 19:20
Lewis Hamilton has explained how the situation at Ferrari appears
worse on the outside looking in, as he shrugged off the idea he
needs a big weekend in F1. The British driver enters the tenth
round of his Ferrari tenure having endured a disappointing start to
life with the Maranello-based team. But, he does not feel he is "in
desperate need" of a strong result at the Canadian Grand Prix,
where he starts from fifth on the grid. Despite winning the sprint
at the Chinese Grand Prix and finishing third in the shorter race
in Miami, he has otherwise had to settle for points finishes in his
first year with the Scuderia. Hamilton is sixth in the drivers'
standings on 71 points, 23 adrift of team-mate Charles Leclerc. The
Monegasque driver has claimed three podium finishes in the past
five rounds. However, it is a far cry from what was anticipated for
the campaign after running McLaren close in the constructors'
championship last season. This term, Ferrari is already 197 points
behind in those standings. Combined, it has significantly subverted
the high expectations that accompanied Hamilton to the Italian
squad when he left Mercedes at the end of last season. Nonetheless,
Hamilton, who has won in Montreal on seven occasions - a joint
record with Michael Schumacher - does not believe he particularly
needs to send a message with his result in Canada. "I don't feel
that I'm searching," the seven-time F1 drivers' champion told
media, including RacingNews365 , when asked if he needs a strong
weekend at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. "Of course, a good
weekend is always a good thing, but I don't feel like I'm in
desperate need of one. I think it looks a lot worse outside than it
probably is on the inside." Prime example To illustrate how things
are developing behind closed doors at Ferrari, Hamilton explained
the gradual process of working with his engineers to refine
processes and approach - as well as finding the "sweet spot" of the
SF-25. "Even just coming from engineering now – how they set the
car up compared to any other year that I've been here is completely
different," the 105-time grand prix winner said. "And having
discussions with engineers to change things… There's a certain way
they like to work ands it's, 'hold on a second – that doesn't
actually make sense'. "Like, this is what I've done for the last
17, 18 years here, and it's worked in a lot of them. So, getting
those things to consistently work with the team and making sure
you're working in a constructive way to make changes. "The car has
a real sweet spot, and we're trying to get it working at all those
tracks, which everyone's having a struggle with. Yeah. I'm hoping
this weekend can be strong."
