Lewis Hamilton Adapts to New Challenges at Ferrari Formula 1 Team

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton admits it may take months for him to fully master his new Ferrari Formula 1 car, following a tough start to life at Maranello. Despite clinching victory in the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix, the journey has been far from smooth for Hamilton.

A Tough Beginning for Hamilton at Ferrari

Cutting a somber figure in the post-race media pen in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago, Hamilton conceded that the ground effect era was his most challenging since he first entered F1 with McLaren in 2007. Radio spats with race engineer Riccardo Adami, struggling to match the pace of teammate Charles Leclerc, and disqualification from the Shanghai Grand Prix have led some to question Hamilton’s Formula 1 future.

When asked by Autosport about how he handles criticism, Hamilton replied, “I forget about it straight away, I just don’t really think about it.” He further added, “I try not to focus on opinions of people that give no insight into what is actually going on, insights from individuals that have never been in my position.

The Road Ahead for Hamilton and Ferrari

With no upgrades planned for the Ferrari this weekend at the Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton was not particularly optimistic about immediate improvements. “No clue,” he said when asked about what could be expected of him and his team in Miami. “We’ll do the best we can, we’ve not got upgrades or anything this weekend, but we continue to try and optimize the car.

Hamilton did express hope, however, citing Leclerc’s impressive performance in the last race as a benchmark for their potential success. “We went through a lot (since Jeddah). There’s some good sim running and there are things that we’ve made adjustments to, and we will see how they work this weekend.

Hamilton also acknowledged the challenges of adapting to a new team, especially given the engineers’ previous experience in setting up cars for different drivers. “But the worry for Ferrari and Hamilton fans came when he admitted he could not rule out needing a similar period of adjustment this time round: ‘I really don’t know (if it will take as long with ), we’re working as hard as we can to shorten that, but it could be longer, who knows?’