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Lewis Hamilton Faces Continued Challenges at Ferrari Following Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton is bracing for a tough remainder of the 2025 season, citing ongoing issues with his Ferrari following what he described as a “horrible” experience at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. In a race marked by a series of difficulties, Hamilton finished seventh, a position that underscored his struggles against teammate Charles Leclerc, who claimed the podium for Ferrari.
Since his victory at the Chinese GP Sprint last month, Hamilton has consistently found himself outperformed by Leclerc in both qualifying and race performances, struggling to keep pace over the past three rounds in Japan, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. In the recent Jeddah race, he concluded over 30 seconds behind Leclerc, who celebrated Ferrari’s first podium finish of the season.
“There was nothing positive to take away from this race, except for Charles finishing on the podium, which is great for the team,” Hamilton remarked. “It was a horrible experience, not enjoyable in any way. I faced significant understeer during the first stint, with the car not responding as I needed. The second stint showed slightly better balance, but overall, the pace was quite disappointing.”
When reflecting on his struggles, Hamilton expressed a sense of bewilderment regarding his recent performance decline. “I don’t have any answers,” he stated, suggesting a broader sense of uncertainty as he anticipates a challenging year ahead. “Right now, there’s no immediate fix. This could be how it goes for the remainder of the season — and it’s going to be painful,” he added.
Data Insights: Similarities Between Hamilton and Leclerc
Hamilton and Leclerc have acknowledged that their driving styles are quite similar, and they had worked on optimizing their car setups prior to the Saudi Arabian race. Despite Leclerc’s reputation as one of the best qualifiers in Formula 1, Hamilton has struggled even in race conditions where he has typically excelled. “He [Leclerc] has been at the wheel of this car for quite some time and knows it exceptionally well,” Hamilton stated.
“The data suggests there isn’t a huge disparity between our performances. Ultimately, I find myself losing time through the corners,” he noted. Hamilton also mentioned that while their setups are slightly different, he needs to analyze whether his is best suited for the car’s performance. “Charles and his side are clearly executing better strategies,” he added, stressing the importance of extracting optimal performance in qualifying and race formats. “Despite my efforts in the race, the car just wouldn’t respond to go faster.”
Looking ahead, Formula 1 will head to Miami for a Sprint weekend from May 2-4, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime.
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