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Concerning Lewis Hamilton data ‘trait’ uncovered in Mercedes hangover

Concerning Lewis Hamilton data ‘trait’ uncovered in Mercedes hangover

Jamie Woodhouse

24 Apr 2025 12:30 PM

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton stood in front of the Mercedes entrance at the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton stood in front of the Mercedes entrance

Lewis Hamilton “upsets the Ferrari everywhere” in high-speed corners, which is a “trait” which has followed him from Mercedes.

That conclusion has been drawn by racing driver and F1 pundit Alex Brundle after he studied Hamilton’s data, and claimed this issue for Hamilton, in comparison to team-mate Charles Leclerc, is clearly displayed.

Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari: ‘Lifetime’s worth of technique’ his enemy?

Hamilton has endured a mixed start to life as a Ferrari driver, but his China Sprint victory from pole is already feeling like a bit of a distant memory, with his overall struggle for results and challenges in adapting to the Ferrari SF-25 triggering a series of concerning statements.

From claiming there is “no fix” and a “painful” F1 2025 is ahead, to hinting that the patience of the Ferrari higher-ups is wearing thin, Hamilton’s downbeat comments are carrying shades of his final season with Mercedes, where a heavy 19-5 defeat to then team-mate George Russell in qualifying triggered similar damming self-assessments.

Hamilton is yet to finish a grand prix ahead of Leclerc since joining Ferrari, while one-lap pace is increasingly becoming an issue, Hamilton six-tenths slower than Leclerc in Bahrain and just over half a second down by the end of Q3 last time out in Jeddah.

And while appearing on the F1 Nation podcast, Brundle revealed what a dig through the data tells him about Hamilton, and where Leclerc is making a difference.

“He’s talked about moving the car toward him, and he’s talked about moving himself towards the car,” Brundle began on Hamilton.

“I look at the data from Lewis every weekend, and the trait is the same.

“So, he goes into the high-speed corners, he hits a little bit more brake pressure than Leclerc, and you can draw a line directly up the wheel-speed graph to the steering trace, and the brake aligned perfectly with a tiny little bit of movement.

“So, he just upsets the Ferrari, like everywhere. Leclerc is just Mr. Measured on the brakes.

“I saw the data with Lewis having a bit of a problem with the same thing at Mercedes.”

More on Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari

👉 The five key reasons Lewis Hamilton hasn’t clicked with Ferrari

👉 Uncovered: The reason behind Hamilton’s wild pace fluctuations

Hamilton replaced Carlos Sainz at Ferrari for F1 2025, and until recently, Sainz had found himself in the same boat when it came to struggling with his new team, Williams.

However, Sainz appears to have turned the tide after far-improved showings in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, crossing the line a season-best P8 in the latter.

So, Brundle says it is now all eyes on Hamilton as he tries to prove he can do the same.

“Can he coach himself out of a lifetime’s worth of driving technique to move towards a car?” Brundle pondered on Hamilton. “We’ll find out.

“But, you look at Carlos Sainz at Williams now. Great weekend for Sainz, qualified in the top six, got points and has completely engaged with their way of doing.

“Lewis [is] still behind the game at Ferrari, so you wonder if it’s going to be possible.”

Hamilton is 16 points behind Leclerc in the early Drivers’ Championship standings.

Read next: Brundle calls out ‘naughty’ Lewis Hamilton action against Norris

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