Lewis Hamilton

2025 Bahrain Grand Prix/2025 F1 season/Formula 1/Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari’s car ‘clearly a lot better than what I’m delivering’

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A despondent Lewis Hamilton admitted he failed to get the most out of his car after qualifying ninth for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Ferrari’s new driver was almost six tenths of a second slower than his team mate Charles Leclerc, who has been promoted to the front row of the grid after the Mercedes drivers were penalised. Hamilton will also start behind Carlos Sainz Jnr, the driver he replaced at Ferrari, who is now at Williams.

Having come into the weekend hoping to gain the benefit of Ferrari’s new floor upgrade, the qualifying result was a blow for Hamilton.

“The positive is our car clearly is a lot better than what I’m delivering with it,” he said. “Charles did a great job with it today, so big apologies to the team for not doing the job.”

Leclerc, who qualified three tenths of a second off pole winner Oscar Piastri, said Ferrari had worked hard to rebound from its disappointing start to the season.

“It’s the result of a lot of work,” he said. “At the beginning of the season, we obviously weren’t where we wanted to be and [for] two or three races I’ve gone in an interesting direction set-up-wise, which seems to help me to extract a bit more out of the car.

“That’s what I’m trying to do every weekend. For now, it seems to be better and better, which is a good sign for the future.”

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He doubts he could have got much more out of the car. “I’m happy with the lap,” said Leclerc. “It was very tricky to put everything together, but I think I did. There wasn’t much more inside the car.”

He is sure Ferrari’s floor upgrade made a difference as the gaps between the teams are so small. “The team has done a really, really good job,” said Leclerc. “We’ve all pushed quite a lot in the last few weeks because we’ve been struggling with performance.

“I know that at the factory they’ve been pushing like crazy to try and bring this floor a bit earlier on, and that definitely made the difference, because if I look at the gap with P4, it’s not that much and I’m pretty sure that without the floor I wouldn’t be P3. So that’s already one position won.

“I’m curious to see what it will do tomorrow. However it’s probably not the best track to extract the maximum out of this new upgrade. In the next few weekends we shall see more of it.”

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Ferrari’s upgrade worked says Hamilton but Leclerc fears they aren’t fast enough · RaceFans

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Lewis Hamilton was encouraged by the performance of Ferrari’s upgraded floor after testing it for the first time in practice today.

“The upgrade’s definitely working,” he told the official F1 channel after first practice. “So a big, big thank you to everyone back home for working so hard on bringing the upgrades because it’s never an easy thing. It’s a lot of work that goes on in the wind tunnel and a lot work that goes into fabricating and putting together these floors.

“It’s just good to see that we’re taking steps forward. We’re trying to now extract more from it, I hope that we can make the right steps overnight to tomorrow.”

Hamilton said his car “felt pretty decent” after they made some set-up changes for the second practice session but he is still trying to make it perform more consistently over a lap.

“I’m just trying to pull the laps together, having a car that’s easy to drive and that’s consistent through the lap at the moment,” he said. “It’s a bit different between low, medium and high [speed corners] as you often have so we’re just trying to finesse it, trying to tweak it and then make sure that we have good long-run pace because that’s where you need to be strong here, particularly.”

He ended second practice eighth on the times sheets, a second off Oscar Piastri in the McLaren. Hamilton’s team mate Charles Leclerc was fourth, half a second off the pace, and doubts they will be able to get significantly closer to McLaren.

“I’m trying to push into a direction that allows me to extract a bit more out of the car, but to be honest, the potential of the car remains the same and we’re just not fast enough,” he said.

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“When we look at the McLaren, they are just on another planet for now. It’s annoying, but it’s the way it is, and it actually motivates me to try and close that gap as soon as possible. But they are incredibly fast.

“It’s been a tricky session because it’s so much warmer than the test and obviously you go into a session expecting the grip that you had at the test and it’s completely different. So we’ve got to readjust the car and there will be a lot of work during the night to try and turn the situation around more.”

Leclerc confirmed Ferrari’s floor changes worked, “so that’s positive, but unfortunately the gap to McLaren is still too big.”

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2025 Bahrain Grand Prix/2025 F1 season/Ferrari/Formula 1/Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton expecting “a bit more downforce” from Ferrari’s upgrade · RaceFans

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Lewis Hamilton is confident the upgrade Ferrari has brought for this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix will allow him to get more out of his SF-25.

Aside from his victory in the Shanghai sprint race three weeks ago, Hamilton has not looked as confident in the car as team mate Charles Leclerc. He revealed after last week’s race at Suzuka the team was bringing an upgrade to address a specific problem with their car.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s race in Bahrain, Hamilton confirmed he is seeking an improvement in his car’s rear-end balance.

“We’ve got an upgrade this weekend, so I’m excited,” he told the official F1 channel. “We’re going to hopefully have a bit more downforce.

“I’m not really feeling a huge amount of issues, it’s just we lack overall performance at the moment pace-wise, which we hopefully will take a step [with] this weekend. On my side, it’s rear end, it’s a little bit, and that’s about it.”

The series’ return to Bahrain after pre-season testing two months ago gives Ferrari the chance to compare the performance of its upgraded car with its original design.

“I’ve done quite a bit of driving since the test that we had here, so I should be a lot more comfortable in the car than I was through testing here,” said Hamilton. “We’ve got an upgrade, got a better understanding of the set-up, so hopefully should bode well for a better weekend.”

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However his team mate Charles Leclerc believes the team saw the full extent of its deficit to championship leaders McLaren at the last race in Suzuka and doubts the changes they have brought to their car for this weekend will be enough to overcome that.

“We’ve got some new bits on the car coming which I hope will help us to close that gap a little bit,” he said. “Whether it will be enough to close the complete gap, I don’t think so. I don’t think that there’s that [much] in what we are bringing here, but I hope it will help us at least to be closer.

“But it’s still quite a significant step. In Suzuka, I think that this was the [true] gap that there is between McLaren and ourselves, which is three tenths [of a second per lap] and we need to work very hard in order to catch that.

“So that’s what we are doing, and I’m confident that we can close that gap. What we’re bringing here, I don’t think will be enough, but hopefully short-term we’ll have other things that will help us to be closer.”

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2025 F1 season/2025 Japanese Grand Prix/Lewis Hamilton/Team radio transcripts

Hamilton’s struggles with his car at Suzuka · RaceFans

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Lewis Hamilton revealed Ferrari has identified a problem with its car which it intends to fix following his seventh-placed finish at Suzuka.

As the first driver on the grid to start the race on the hard rubber, Hamilton pursued an alternative strategy to many of those around him. That gave him the opportunity to spend more of the race in clearer air than his rivals did.

He wasn’t happy with his pace, however, and repeatedly asked his race engineer Riccardo Adami for information on where he was losing time and how to gain it.

In his third grand prix for Ferrari, Hamilton’s relationship with his engineer appears to be working more smoothly, but he is still learning how to get the best from the Ferrari and how to tune it to his liking.

Hamilton’s Japanese Grand Prix radio messages

Stint 1: Hard
Stint 2: Medium
Finish

Stint 1: Hard

Hamilton started the race on hard tyres and managed to avoid losing a position to those around him who opted for the softer medium compound.

Lap: 1/53 HAM: 1’40.279
AdamiAlbon 0.2 behind.
Lap: 2/53 HAM: 1’35.275
AdamiDRS enabled. Albon 0.6 behind.
AdamiB-bal 58, suggested, five eight.
Lap: 3/53 HAM: 1’34.254
AdamiWe suggest right toggle turn one. Albon 0.9 behind.
Lap: 4/53 HAM: 1’34.147
AdamiPace is good. Charles lap time 34.1. Verstappen, race leader, 33.6. All on mediums.

He gained a place early on from Isack Hadjar. This was one of few on-track passes which occured during the race.

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Lap: 6/53 HAM: 1’33.941
AdamiHadjar runs slightly wide in Spoon, Hamilton passes him with DRS on the pit straight
Well done. And push less the entry turn nine, push less the entry.
AdamiYou have completed lap six.
HamiltonNeed more support in turn 13.
AdamiUnderstood.
Lap: 7/53 HAM: 1’34.139
AdamiRight toggle turn 13 for more support, for rear support.
HamiltonWhere am I losing?
Lap: 8/53 HAM: 1’33.912
AdamiYeah, I’ll come back to you and you’re doing a good job with tyres, keep doing that.
AdamiFocus exit nine, eight and nine to improve for pace.
Lap: 10/53 HAM: 1’33.522
AdamiAnd no rain expected for the next half an hour.
AdamiGood lap times now. Catch on Antonelli.
Lap: 11/53 HAM: 1’33.956
AdamiMulti blue DG position five to stabilise the high speed. You want to stabilise high speed, multi blue DG 5.
HamiltonYeah, rear’s sliding a bit.
AdamiUnderstood.
Lap: 12/53 HAM: 1’34.033
AdamiSuggest early turn-in, turn eight, early turn-in.

As the leaders ahead of him pitted to switch to the medium tyre compound, Hamilton moved up places. Andrea Kimi Antonelli did not come in yet, however, extending his stint.

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Lap: 14/53 HAM: 1’33.985
AdamiVerstappen 33.6 and switch yellow.
HamiltonRear sliding a little bit.
AdamiUnderstood.
Lap: 15/53 HAM: 1’33.888
AdamiAnd we are happy with your status to the high speed for tyres.
AdamiAs driving advice prioritise exits with early turn-in.
Lap: 16/53 HAM: 1’34.068
AdamiAnd tyre phase update when you can.
Lap: 17/53 HAM: 1’33.760
HamiltonPace?
AdamiVerstappen 33.4. And Charles 33.8, Antonelli 33.9.
Lap: 18/53 HAM: 1’34.034
AdamiTry to reduce brake pressure, entry eight and 13.
Lap: 19/53 HAM: 1’34.077
Hamilton[Unclear]
Lap: 20/53 HAM: 1’33.747
AdamiUnderstood. B-mig [brake migration] four might help. Russell is in the pits, fitting hard.
AdamiYou’re doing a good job in 13, you improved there. Focus on the exit, 14.

Hamilton had the pace to stay out longer but was eventually caught by former leader Max Verstappen after he’d pitted for the hard rubber. Rather than run the risk of losing time as the Red Bull driver and his pursuers overtook Hamilton, Ferrari brought him in.

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`

Lap: 21/53 HAM: 1’33.729
AdamiPiastri is in as well. Verstappen 3.0, Charles 3.6.
AdamiAnd less throttle suggested, exit 13 to prepare 14.
AdamiThat was a good job. And the leaders are boxing, Antonelli P1 ahead of you.
Lap: 22/53 HAM: 1’33.698
AdamiTyre phase update when you can. And completed lap 22, Antonelli 33.2, ahead.
Lap: 24/53 HAM: 1’33.548
AdamiAnd that was a good lap, Antonelli 33.2.
Hamilton[Unclear] snaps, but struggling to turn the car.
AdamiCopy that, we do see from data, all you have now.
Lap: 25/53 HAM: 1’33.387
HamiltonTyre is still good.
AdamiOkay, understood.
Lap: 26/53 HAM: 1’33.204
AdamiAnd Hadjar is 3.7 behind, he’s boxing now, go push now.
AdamiAnd you can use more the kerb out of 13, and staying out and keep pushing.
HamiltonMode what?
AdamiWas use more of the kerb exit 13, 13, we are three tenths faster than Antonelli first sector, keep pushing, staying out.
HamiltonUnderstood.
Lap: 27/53 HAM: 1’33.152
AdamiAnd Charles lap time on hard 32.5, for info, and Verstappen behind you, 3.3 seconds behind you. Verstappen 32.4.
Lap: 28/53 HAM: 1’33.040
AdamiAnd there is still one tenth to find, exit 14, 14. That’s your best lap.
AdamiYou are purple, first sector. And Verstappen 2.8 behind, and SOC five to improve the pace.
Lap: 29/53 HAM: 1’33.215
AdamiThat was a good 14, faster than Antonelli. Antonelli 33.2.
AdamiWe suggest fifth gear turn five, fifth gear. Verstappen 1.8 behind.
Lap: 30/53 HAM: 1’36.186
HamiltonI can see him.
AdamiUnderstood.
AdamiAnd flap update when you can.
HamiltonA bit more.
AdamiAt exit of Spoon
Box, box, pit confirm and box.
Lap: 31/53 HAM: 1’52.362
AdamiHamilton pits and heads out
You are in free air.

Stint 2: Medium

Ferrari hoped that as Antonelli was switching to the hard tyre, Hamilton would gain a benefit from quicker tyre warm-up on his new mediums compared to the Mercedes driver.

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HamiltonAre people bringing them in slow or not?
AdamiNo needed, no intro, no needed, deg is good, deg is good.
AdamiAnd the medium seems…
HamiltonInterrupts
Where am I?
AdamiLawson car behind, six seconds. And Russell, 10 seconds ahead.
HamiltonAlright, where am I though, what position?
Lap: 32/53 HAM: 1’31.803
AdamiWe are P7, Antonelli boxing ahead of you. On hard.
AdamiAnd big warm-up on hard for Antonelli, big warm-up.
Lap: 33/53 HAM: 1’31.589
AdamiSuggest diff entry six. Will be 19 laps to go.

Hamilton was clearly disappointed to discover he was not making significant gains on the cars ahead after switching from the hard rubber to the mediums.

Lap: 35/53 HAM: 1’32.385
HamiltonWhere is everyone? They’re so much further ahead.
Lap: 36/53 HAM: 1’31.915
AdamiRussell is eight seconds ahead of Antonelli, and Russell is P5.
HamiltonI’d really like some info where I’m slow, mate.
AdamiTurn eight-nine and 13-14
HamiltonOkay, but how much?
AdamiYeah, I’ll tell you.
AdamiGap one tenth ten, eight and nine. Minimum speed turn eight, try to use the kerb.
Lap: 38/53 HAM: 1’31.869
AdamiThat was better. When you can, multi red KC position nine, multi Red KC nine.

The information on Hamilton’s steering wheel display appeared to indicated he was losing a significant amount of time in the final corner. Adami told him the reference was skewed because he gained a lot of time their during his first lap on fresh tyres.

Lap: 40/53 HAM: 1’31.663
HamiltonAccelerating out of the chicane
Look at the last corner and how bad is it?
AdamiTaking a look.
HamiltonLet me know about turn 11, I keep losing time.
AdamiCopy.
AdamiAnd last corner is less than one tenth, across cars. I’ll get back to you for 11 exit.
Lap: 41/53 HAM: 1’31.569
AdamiAcross the cars we are faster than Charles at 11, but we can give you advice.
AdamiTurn 11 looks good from data, it’s just that your reference was a mega one with a new tyre.
Lap: 42/53 HAM: 1’31.517
HamiltonWhat lap are we on?
Lap: 43/53 HAM: 1’32.634
Adami42. And 11 to go, 11 laps to go. Turn 11 is very good.
AdamiRight toggle turn one, suggestion.
Lap: 45/53 HAM: 1’32.668
AdamiLast lap, the turn 14 was very good, 14, very good.
HamiltonKeep having a snap turn one or turn two.
AdamiUnderstood.
HamiltonReally been struggling with the rear today.
AdamiDiff mid four to help you. Keep using right toggle.
AdamiAnd diff entry seven.
Lap: 46/53 HAM: 1’31.792
AdamiB-bal 60, try to protect the rears for overheating.
Lap: 48/53 HAM: 1’31.502
AdamiUnderstood. And five to go, five to go. Charles lap time 31.8.

Finish

Hamilton expressed his gratitude to his team in Italian at the end of the race. Adami revealed his car may have been “overbalanced” with too much downforce at the front following their set-up choices.

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Lap: 49/53 HAM: 1’31.944
HamiltonWhat’s the gaps, man, there’s nothing on my pit board.
AdamiCar ahead eight seconds.
Lap: 50/53 HAM: 1’31.832
HamiltonDon’t have the pace today.
Lap: 51/53 HAM: 1’31.406
AdamiThree laps to go.
HamiltonHow far am I off, pace-wise?
Lap: 52/53 HAM: 1’31.842
AdamiDriver default delta zero on when you can.
AdamiSimilar pace to Charles on the medium. Charles lap time 31.9, 31,9 on hard.
Lap: 53/53 HAM: 1’31.423
AdamiLast lap.
Chequered flag
AdamiAnd P7. And pick up, please. And charge on.
Hamilton drives wide and off the track at several points to pick up discarded rubber
HamiltonSorry for that result guys, didn’t have the pace today but I’m grateful you’re continuing to push. The next race will be better.
AdamiYeah, thank you, good effort out there. Chat together, probably we are a bit overbalanced protecting the fronts, we can discuss later.
HamiltonGrazie a tutti [‘thanks to everyone’].
AdamiGrazie a te [‘thanks to you’]. Come back stronger and keep pushing. And P0.

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2025 F1 season/2025 Japanese Grand Prix/Ferrari/Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton waiting for new part to fix “something underperforming” · F1 · RaceFans

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Ferrari has identified a problem with its car which has been present since the start of the season, Lewis Hamilton revealed after the Japanese Grand Prix.

Hamilton raced from eighth to seventh at Suzuka while team mate Charles Leclerc finished third. The team ended last year in more competitive shape than it has started the new season.

Ferrari believes it has identified a fault on the car which has contributed to their poor form, said Hamilton.

I think I did the best I could today,” he told Sky. “[I was], generally lacking performance compared to all the cars that are up ahead of me, particularly Mercedes and McLaren and obviously the Red Bull.

“We’ve found something on the car that’s been underperforming for the last three races. So I’m really hoping when that’s fixed I’ll start getting a bit better results.

“But I’m losing just over a tenth [of a second] a lap with this issue we have. So I’m hoping in the next race it’s fixed.

Hamilton indicated the team doesn’t fully understand the cause of the problem but hopes to remedy it with a new part which it will introduce soon.

“They’re aware of it and they don’t know why [it’s happening],” he said. “So, as I said, when the new component comes, hopefully it’ll be gone and it’ll be the same across cars.

“Considering that, I’m relatively happy with the race pace that I did have, given what I had. But otherwise, good performance from the team. Myself and Riccardo I think did a really good job, the engineers and mechanics also did a great job.”

However Hamilton said he also needs to improve his performance in qualifying. “Clearly it’s really important to get a good qualifying and I’m not extracting the best out of the tyres so that’s something I’ll work on.”

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Vote for your 2025 Japanese Grand Prix F1 Driver of the Weekend

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Start, Suzuka, 2025


Which Formula 1 driver made the most of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend?

It’s time to give your verdict on which driver did the best with the equipment at their disposal over the last three days.

Review how each driver got on below and vote for who impressed you the most at Suzuka.

Driver performance summary

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Vote for your driver of the weekend

Which driver do you think did the best job throughout the race weekend?

Who got the most out of their car in qualifying and the race? Who put their team mate in the shade?

Cast your vote below and explain why you chose the driver you picked in the comments.

Who was the best driver of the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix weekend?

  • No opinion (0%)
  • Gabriel Bortoleto (0%)
  • Nico Hulkenberg (0%)
  • Carlos Sainz Jnr (0%)
  • Alexander Albon (0%)
  • Yuki Tsunoda (6%)
  • Isack Hadjar (11%)
  • Oliver Bearman (0%)
  • Esteban Ocon (0%)
  • Pierre Gasly (0%)
  • Jack Doohan (0%)
  • Fernando Alonso (0%)
  • Lance Stroll (0%)
  • George Russell (0%)
  • Andrea Kimi Antonelli (17%)
  • Liam Lawson (0%)
  • Max Verstappen (67%)
  • Lewis Hamilton (0%)
  • Charles Leclerc (0%)
  • Oscar Piastri (0%)
  • Lando Norris (0%)

Total Voters: 18

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Hamilton and Stroll handed formal warnings for queue-jumping in pit lane · RaceFans

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The stewards have issued formal warnings to Lewis Hamilton and Lance Stroll for overtaking their rivals in the pit lane during practice.

The drivers’ teams were also warned after both were found to have violated the race director’s instructions on how drivers should join the fast lane of the pits when leaving the garages.

Drivers are forbidden from overtaking any cars which are in the fast lane of the pits by passing through the inner lane or working lane. The rules on when a car is considered to be inside the fast lane have been tightened in recent seasons due to an increase in drivers queueing at the pit lane exit anticipating the beginning or resumption of a session.

The stewards found both Hamilton and Stroll “overtook several cars in the fast lane whilst traversing the working lane to the practice start area” during the second practice session. Stroll did so following the second red flag and Hamilton did after the third.

The race director’s notes for this event define precisely how drivers may join the fast lane and that they should not be overtaken once inside it unless their car stops with an “obvious mechanical problem.”

“Any car(s) driven to the end of the pit lane prior to the start or restart of a free practice session [or] qualifying session must form up in a line in the fast lane and leave in the order they got there,” the instruction explains.

“A car will be considered to be ‘in the fast lane’ when a tyre has crossed the solid white line separating the fast lane from the inner lane, in this context crossing means that all of a tyre should be beyond the far side, with respect to the garages, of the line separating the fast lane from the inner lane.”

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“After the start or restart of a free practice session [or] qualifying session, if there is a suitable
gap in a queue of cars in the fast lane, such that a driver can blend into the fast lane safely and without unnecessarily impeding cars already in the fast lane, they are free to do so,” it adds.

“During a free practice session and qualifying session a car driving in the inner lane, parallel to the fast lane, will not be considered to have blended into the fast lane at the earliest opportunity.”

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Hamilton says he’s playing catch-up with 2025 tyres after testing disruptions · RaceFans

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Lewis Hamilton began the season still learning how to get the best from Pirelli’s 2025-specification tyres because of disruptions to his pre-season testing programme.

The Ferrari driver said his victory in the 19-lap sprint event at the second round of the season in Shanghai was the first time he had completed a typical race stint on the new compounds.

“I was reflecting after the last two races, I didn’t get to do the Abu Dhabi test because I was obviously still with Mercedes,” he told the official F1 channel. “All the other drivers got to test the 2025 tyres.

“Then when I came to do my Bahrain test and do my long run I didn’t even get to it because [the car] broke down. So my first long run in the dry, 20 laps, was actually the sprint race, [and] I’m quite happy with how I treated those tyres.”

Following that success, Ferrari’s pace in the grand prix proved a disappointment. “The next day we made some changes to the car and it wasn’t the right direction and made it difficult through qualifying and then particularly in the race,” Hamilton explained. “But there’s lots and lots of learnings to take from those two weeks and I feel that’s really helped prepare us better for moving forwards.”

Although Hamilton also conducted running in Ferrari’s earlier cars before the season began, he lacked experience in wet conditions prior to the first round in Melbourne. “I’ve just been highlighting to the guys that my first time driving in the rain was the first race on the Sunday,” he added.

He said managing the tyre temperatures will be especially critical over a lap of Suzuka this weekend. “Getting the tyres in the window can be a challenge,” he said.

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“I think having them in sync – so you can have the rears in the window and the fronts not in the window or you can have the fronts not in the window – you want to enter the first corner with the rears slightly below and then through the corner they can come up.

“If you start with too hot temperatures then [the] third sector often is an issue. Start too cold, you have instabilities and lose too much in sector one. You might gain some back in the next two, but trying to find the balance between that is a real challenge.”

Following his mixed results over the opening rounds, Hamilton said he “doesn’t know what to expect in terms of how the car will feel necessarily,” at Suzuka.

“But I feel positive. Obviously I’ve got two races behind me now and experienced the tyres, for example the C2 tyre that we had in the last race I hadn’t actually driven that before, so I finally got a race with that under my belt.”

The team’s problems were compounded in China when Hamilton and team mate Charles Leclerc were disqualified as their cars failed technical inspections. Hamilton said he’s confident the team will avoid a repeat in the future.

“I was at the factory with the team during the week and I’m really impressed with how the team digested and worked through the analysis and figuring out ways of working better, moving forwards,” he said. “[There’s] better processes and just hopefully [we’ll] make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

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F1/F1 news/Ferrari/Formula 1/Lewis Hamilton

Clarkson understands nothing about Hamilton and Ferrari: 'From hero to zero in one day!'

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An outspoken Lewis Hamilton fan Jeremy Clarkson is  not by any means. The British TV personality has regularly criticised his comthe seven-time world champion in the past. After the Grand Prix weekend in China – in which Hamilton won the sprint race and played a less relevant role in the Grand Prix – Clarkson does so again in his column in The Sun.