Lewis Hamilton sounds exactly like Lando Norris as he names the F1 weakness he needs to address

Lewis Hamilton produced a great recovery drive to finish P4 in his first home Grand Prix for Ferrari at Imola.

The seven-time champion and teammate Charles Leclerc were knocked out in Q2 at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, lining up on the sixth row of the grid. F1 fans were furious with team principal Frederic Vasseur as he claimed the team could have been P4 and P5, despite struggling for pace on the soft tyre.

Starting 12th on Sunday, well-timed pit stops and solid race pace saw Hamilton climb to fourth, while Leclerc finished sixth after a battle with Alex Albon. The result is the Brit’s best for Ferrari on a Sunday as he climbs ahead of Kimi Antonelli in the standings.

It has been a difficult start to the season for Hamilton, who has not lived up to his and the world’s expectations. Many believed he would guide the team to success, but he has yet to score a podium and is almost 100 podiums off of the championship lead.

Imola was an encouraging step in the right direction, with Ferrari fans showing ‘unconditional support’ to Hamilton for his impressive drive. He will hope that stronger results will come more consistently after performing well on the Tifosi’s home soil.

But by his own admission, ‘there’s still a long way to go’ and he has one weakness that he shares with Lando Norris that he must address.

Lewis Hamilton sounds exactly like Lando Norris as he admits he needs to be kinder to himself

In the last few seasons, Hamilton has struggled to be consistently competitive. Since losing the 2021 title to Max Verstappen, he has won just twice, coming in his final season for Mercedes in 2024.

The 40-year-old has been noticeably dejected in media interviews, often criticising himself for mistakes and when things are not going to plan. Speaking with Sky Sports, Hamilton admitted that he must be kinder to himself and remind himself of what he has achieved in F1.

This sounds exactly like McLaren star Norris, who is notorious for being overly-critical of himself. The pair share the same weakness, and they have to go about shutting that down to be stronger.

“This year, it’s been the busiest first half of a season I’ve ever had. The pressure’s for sure been the highest in expectation from myself and from everyone wanting so much,” said Hamilton.

“But when you’re faced with the reality, is that we’re not fighting currently for the world championship in terms of pure pace. There’s still a long way to go so maybe we’ll close the gap and all of a sudden be back in the mix.

“That becomes a realisation for everyone and the outside pressure is intense clearly for Ferrari because it’s such a prestigious brand. There’s such high expectations for the brand. And for me, I have high expectations for myself because of course, I want to be…”

Hamilton is then cut off when he is asked if he is hard of himself, to which he replies: “Oh massively. But that’s how I got to where I am. I don’t think that’s a secret necessarily and I think I’m definitely in the phase of my life where I’m like, I need to be kinder to myself.

“I have to remind myself that I’ve actually won a lot of championships.”

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Lando Norris must overcome mental battles to beat Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen to the 2025 title

While Hamilton and Norris both need to address their problems with being self-critical, it holds much more weight for the latter, who is firmly in the title picture.

Norris came into the season as the favourite after a late charge for the title last season. Now that McLaren have the fastest car on the grid, the 25-year-old is in a prime position to fight for the championship, but he is being overshadowed by teammate Oscar Piastri.

After winning the season opener in Melbourne, Norris has not been on pole since then or claimed another win, while Piastri has four victories and leads the championship by 13 points. Mistakes in qualifying have cost the Brit, leading to him quite often being critical of his mistakes.

Norris admits he puts too much pressure on himself to deliver results, but he is taking the necessary steps to snuff this out. After his crash in Q3 in Jeddah, Jamie Chadwick noticed Norris was not beating himself up; a good sign that he is not looking to fall into a negative spiral.

Piastri has found a new level in 2025, while Verstappen remains in the title picture despite being in inferior machinery. Norris has to get over his struggles if he wants to become champion.