Ferrari F1: Hamilton compares his debut with Mercedes, and reveals how long it takes to perform

Arriving at the Scuderia Ferrari this year, 2025, Lewis Hamilton has yet to find the right rhythm with the SF-25. After a mixed start to the season and glaring performance gaps with Charles Leclerc, the seven-time world champion took the time to assess his situation at a press conference in Miami.

Straightforwardly, the Brit admitted that the adjustment was taking longer than expected. "There are so many things. So many different things. There's no one thing in particular. When I moved to Mercedes, even then, my first six months were difficult. I had to acclimatize, get used to working with new people."

Hamilton drew a direct parallel with his only previous change of team, in 2013, when he left McLaren to join Mercedes. Back then, he had to wait until the tenth round of the season for a win, proof that even the greatest need time to adapt to a new technical and human environment.

"Even the engineers have to learn to find the right tool for a driver with a different riding style. They're used to other styles, other requirements."

Even today, Hamilton says he's working hard to evolve his own style to better match the characteristics of the Ferrari SF-25. "You have to try to drive both instinctively and consciously. I'm definitely making an effort to adapt, that's for sure."

Humorously, he admits that his progress in Italian isn't necessarily helping: "My Italian isn't progressing very much, so I have to work harder!" he blurts out with a smile.

"I'm not living in Italy currently... spending more time is still something that I really want to try and figure out how to do through the year. My Italian is not really progressing, so I've got to probably throw myself more in the thick of it."

🩵 pic.twitter.com/1RgvLsIUZF

- sim (@simsgazette) May 1, 2025

A lacklustre performance... but some signs of hope

For the weekend in Miami, Hamilton remains cautious: no predictions, and no technical evolutions planned for the single-seater. However, the objective is clear: capitalize on the potential seen in the previous race, where Leclerc showed that the car could fight for the podium.

"We'll try to replicate that kind of performance," said Hamilton, while stressing the importance of not touching the set-up too much, as was the case during the Sprint weekend in Shanghai - his best result with Ferrari so far.

Finally, when asked about Carlos Sainz's comment that you can't expect to beat a team-mate who is already perfectly integrated, Hamilton agreed: "There are elements of truth in that... but every situation is different."

And for a more light-hearted touch, Charles and Lewis also play foosball in the video!

Competition never stops 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Ww2ZHLgKYi

- Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) May 2, 2025