Lewis Hamilton fans would have hoped that he’d arrive at the Miami Grand Prix with renewed optimism. The seven-time world champion sounded defeated after the last race in Saudi Arabia.
Half a second slower than Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in qualifying and more than 30 seconds behind in the race, Hamilton suggested that the rest of 2025 would be ‘painful’.
Speaking at a sponsor event in London between the races, Hamilton promised not to ‘give up’. He assured the crowd that he’d ‘keep getting better’.
| RACE | Q | R |
| Australia | 8 | 10 |
| China Sprint | 1 | 1 |
| China | 5 | DSQ |
| Japan | 8 | 7 |
| Bahrain | 9 | 5 |
| Saudi Arabia | 7 | 7 |
But on Thursday, the 40-year-old sounded low again. While he’s visited Ferrari’s Maranello factory to study data and carry out simulator work, it seems the team haven’t found a solution to his early woes just yet.
Lewis Hamilton kept giving ‘single-word answers’ at the Miami Grand Prix
Hamilton appeared in the FIA press conference alongside former teammate George Russell and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg. When asked by host Tom Clarkson what was stopping him from unlocking the car’s full potential, he gave a short reply.
“Many things,” he said. “Lots of different things. There’s not one particular.”
Sky Sports’ David Croft then asked whether a new driver can expect to be quicker than their teammate at the outset. Again, the response was anything but detailed.
“I mean, there are elements of that that are true,” Hamilton said. “But it’s different for everyone.”
Speaking on the BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast, journalist Jennie Gow said it was difficult for her producer to ‘cobble together’ a meaningful clip from Hamilton’s appearance.
“He spoke in the press conference today, but I think the word ‘speak’ is going over the top,” Gow said. “Single-word answers, it’s hard for our producer to cobble something together that made any sense. He was just not into it.”
Ted Kravitz reveals Ferrari’s latest instruction to Lewis Hamilton
F1 pundit Ralf Schumacher reckons Hamilton needs to take inspiration from Oliver Bearman, the teenage Haas driver. As a youngster, Bearman isn’t set his ways, which has allowed him to immediately hit the ground running at his new team.
By contrast, Hamilton is perhaps clinging onto a driving style that doesn’t work in this generation of cars or this year’s Ferrari. Of course, changing that is far easier said than done.
According to Ted Kravitz, Ferrari are telling Hamilton not to give up ahead of the Miami Grand Prix. They believe there’s still hope.
After all, there are still 19 out of 24 races to go. It may only take one positive result to change the narrative, but a forlorn Hamilton doesn’t seem to think it’s forthcoming.
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