Ferrari employee so impressed by what Lewis Hamilton is already doing in team meetings, ‘very important’

Lewis Hamilton has already won for Ferrari, having converted pole position in the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint. Of course, what he really wants is a win on Sunday, but he’s ticked off the first major achievement of his career with the Italian giants.

Aside from that, though, Hamilton has struggled on track. He qualified eighth for his debut in Australia and finished P10, having been unable to pass the midfield cars ahead of him.

After the high of the Shanghai Sprint, he lacked pace in the main Grand Prix, voluntarily dropping behind his quicker teammate Charles Leclerc. He crossed the line sixth before he was disqualified for excessive plank wear.

At Suzuka last weekend, Hamilton was once again eighth on the grid, four spots behind Leclerc. He passed Isack Hadjar but ended up a rather lonely P7, having been left behind by Mercedes replacement Kimi Antonelli.

Thus Hamilton is only eighth in the championship ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend. But speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Ferrari ambassador Marc Gene raved about his impact behind the scenes.

Lewis Hamilton already imparting crucial information in Ferrari briefings

Hamilton is still in the early stages of his adaptation process. During the winter, he drove the 2023 and 2024 Ferrari cars in Barcelona and Fiorano TPC outings, then he had around 1.5 days of testing in Bahrain (he was denied a long run by mechanical issues).

Hamilton has now maxed out his TPC allocation and is suffering from the restrictive rules of the cost-cap era. Ferrari are optimistic they will see the best of the seven-time world champion once he’s fully acclimatised, though it’s unclear how long that will take.

The team have made as many accommodations as they reasonably can. After changing their driving position over the winter – their new signing prefers to sit further back – Ferrari modified Hamilton’s steering wheel.

Gene says the 40-year-old is displaying exactly the right attitude, having seen his working methods up close. He’s already making a ‘very important’ contribution in briefings.

“It’s early days, because I’m just getting to know him,” Gene said. “But no-one can doubt his talent.

“He’s very experienced. You can really see he knows he knows what he needs. That’s why, from Melbourne to China, he made a huge improvement.

“Coming from another team, it’s really not easy. With the current Formula 1 where you cannot test, it’s so hard to change teams, to get used to the dynamics, to get used to the steering wheel, that takes time.

“Already in the briefings, when he talks, you can really tell that he’s giving some very important information.”

Will Lewis Hamilton have to take back ‘snotty’ remark about Ferrari?

Ferrari will introduce an upgrade for the Bahrain GP this weekend in the form of a revised floor. Based on recent development trends, they may need time to realise the full benefits.

The drivers’ championship already looks like a three-way duel between Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Leclerc and Hamilton shouldn’t be counted out just yet, but they’re both more than 40 points adrift.

To have a chance of winning the constructors’, Ferrari need these updates to deliver. They appear to be the fourth-fastest team right now, or third if one averages out the performance of the Red Bull duo.

Former F1 driver Christian Danner said Hamilton sounded ‘snotty’ after the Japanese GP when he suggested there was an inherent performance difference between the two Ferrari cars. Danner says Fred Vasseur can’t allow those remarks to go unaddressed.