KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Lewis Hamilton confesses painful weekend at Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton's struggles come as Ferrari had great expectations for the 2025 season after being close to winning the Constructors' Championship last year. The early indications, though, are that the team will still lag behind Red Bull and McLaren in critical performance areas.
“Nothing positive to take from today, apart from Charles on the podium, which is great for the team. It was horrible, not enjoyable at all. I was just sliding around. It's pretty bad,” he mentioned, looking back at a race that never had any pace and consistency from the first lap.
Charles Leclerc maximises potential as Lewis Hamilton searches for answers
While Lewis Hamilton struggled with setup problems and variable grip, Charles Leclerc produced a calm and measured performance. A lengthy initial stint on medium tyres enabled Leclerc to pass George Russell's Mercedes and deliver Ferrari their opening Grand Prix podium of the campaign.
“I feel like we've maximised absolutely everything we could have this weekend. There wasn't anything more in the car,” he said. “I feel very at ease with the car in a way that I know I can extract the maximum out of the car more often than not, but unfortunately, the car potential is just not good enough to fight for better in qualifying.”
Even with Ferrari's good race pace, not being able to consistently qualify in the front row is costing them precious points—something Leclerc was realising with increasing worry. “Unfortunately, for two years, we are just struggling in qualifying to put everything together. The problem is it's not always the same issue. This time it was four tenths in the first three corners. For the rest of the lap, we were fast,” he added. “Today in the race, actually, the first sector was probably the best sector we had. So we've got to look at that. Obviously, there are answers in what we are doing, and we are doing something wrong, clearly. We've got to find it. We cannot lose too many races before finding it because we're already 50 points down in the drivers' championship. We're not looking at it too much, but 50 points is a big number. I don't want to be losing more points than that in the next few races.”
Ferrari's season hopes tested as Miami looms
Hamilton, who stands seventh in drivers' standings now, conceded that the issues with the car do not seem transient. “At the moment, there is no fix, so this is how it's going to be for the rest or the year. It's going to be painful,” he stated. “In qualifying, it's me extracting performance, and in the race, I tried everything and the car just didn't want to go any quicker.”
No matter how well the car performed in the China sprint race, Hamilton stated that the car's behaviour is completely different from circuit to circuit and leaves him without an exact direction.
Also read: “A lot of work to do”- Ahead of Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton focuses on adapting to a new driving style
With the Miami Grand Prix up next, both Ferrari drivers will require good showings to close the gap on front-runners Red Bull and McLaren. For Hamilton specifically, the quest for comfort and competitiveness in his new team continues, as his transition season with Ferrari remains an uphill battle.
- Lewis Hamilton manages seventh and finds it difficult with the Ferrari setup
- Charles Leclerc achieves first podium of the season for Ferrari
- Ferrari's 2025 title aspirations are already threatened by qualifying troubles
Lewis Hamilton confesses painful weekend at Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton didn't make it easy for Lando Norris! 😨#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/qD3toyVMpR
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 20, 2025
Lewis Hamilton's struggles come as Ferrari had great expectations for the 2025 season after being close to winning the Constructors' Championship last year. The early indications, though, are that the team will still lag behind Red Bull and McLaren in critical performance areas.
“Nothing positive to take from today, apart from Charles on the podium, which is great for the team. It was horrible, not enjoyable at all. I was just sliding around. It's pretty bad,” he mentioned, looking back at a race that never had any pace and consistency from the first lap.
Charles Leclerc maximises potential as Lewis Hamilton searches for answers
While Lewis Hamilton struggled with setup problems and variable grip, Charles Leclerc produced a calm and measured performance. A lengthy initial stint on medium tyres enabled Leclerc to pass George Russell's Mercedes and deliver Ferrari their opening Grand Prix podium of the campaign.
“I feel like we've maximised absolutely everything we could have this weekend. There wasn't anything more in the car,” he said. “I feel very at ease with the car in a way that I know I can extract the maximum out of the car more often than not, but unfortunately, the car potential is just not good enough to fight for better in qualifying.”
Even with Ferrari's good race pace, not being able to consistently qualify in the front row is costing them precious points—something Leclerc was realising with increasing worry. “Unfortunately, for two years, we are just struggling in qualifying to put everything together. The problem is it's not always the same issue. This time it was four tenths in the first three corners. For the rest of the lap, we were fast,” he added. “Today in the race, actually, the first sector was probably the best sector we had. So we've got to look at that. Obviously, there are answers in what we are doing, and we are doing something wrong, clearly. We've got to find it. We cannot lose too many races before finding it because we're already 50 points down in the drivers' championship. We're not looking at it too much, but 50 points is a big number. I don't want to be losing more points than that in the next few races.”
Ferrari's season hopes tested as Miami looms
Hamilton, who stands seventh in drivers' standings now, conceded that the issues with the car do not seem transient. “At the moment, there is no fix, so this is how it's going to be for the rest or the year. It's going to be painful,” he stated. “In qualifying, it's me extracting performance, and in the race, I tried everything and the car just didn't want to go any quicker.”
No matter how well the car performed in the China sprint race, Hamilton stated that the car's behaviour is completely different from circuit to circuit and leaves him without an exact direction.
Also read: “A lot of work to do”- Ahead of Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton focuses on adapting to a new driving style
With the Miami Grand Prix up next, both Ferrari drivers will require good showings to close the gap on front-runners Red Bull and McLaren. For Hamilton specifically, the quest for comfort and competitiveness in his new team continues, as his transition season with Ferrari remains an uphill battle.
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