Lewis Hamilton endured another frustrating weekend as a Ferrari driver at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as the seven-time F1 champion registered a seventh-place finish.
The Briton realised a childhood dream at the start of this year when Hamilton left Mercedes for Ferrari and stepped out in their iconic red for the first time. Yet his form has resembled a nightmare more than a fantasy since greeting thousands of the Tifosi at Fiorano this January.
Hamilton is only seventh in the F1 drivers’ standings with 31 points after the first five rounds while Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc sits fifth with 47. The 40-year-old is even already 68 points off the lead after Oscar Piastri moved atop the table by winning the Saudi Arabian GP.
Leclerc joined Piastri and Red Bull racer Max Verstappen on the podium in Jeddah to register Ferrari’s first Grand Prix rostrum of the 2025 F1 season. Hamilton is yet to finish a Grand Prix at the Scuderia higher than his P5 in the Bahrain Grand Prix, with his average also just P7.25.
Ferrari understand it is now ‘essential’ Lewis Hamilton changes his driving style for the SF-25
Hamilton was off Leclerc’s pace all weekend at the Saudi Arabian GP, as well, as he qualified P7 compared to P4 with a 0.531-second deficit. He even finished in P7 compared to P3 with a 30.969s gap to his Ferrari teammate, shattering his previous worst of 13.085s from Japan.
So, according to AutoRacer, Ferrari now ‘understand’ is ‘essential’ that Hamilton changes his driving style to suit the SF-25. The Scuderia feel he must adapt to their car’s characteristics as the Briton struggles far more with its light rear end than Leclerc, who likes this style of car.
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| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Oscar Piastri |
99 |
| 2 |
Lando Norris |
89 |
| 3 |
Max Verstappen |
87 |
| 4 |
George Russell |
73 |
| 5 |
Charles Leclerc |
47 |
| 6 |
Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
38 |
| 7 |
Lewis Hamilton |
31 |
Ferrari have traditionally had a car more towards Hamilton’s style in recent years with a light front and precise rear end. But the balance of the Scuderia’s challenger shifted entirely with the SF-25, which Ferrari only noticed in pre-season struggles badly in slow-speed corners.
Hamilton especially struggles to adapt to the SF-25’s light rear end during qualifying, at high speed and while braking, resulting in him averaging P7.4 on the grid for the first five Grands Prix to Leclerc’s P4.8. But the settings he and Ferrari have changed have not helped matters.
Lewis Hamilton was behind Charles Leclerc in every session but Q1 at the Saudi Arabian GP
So, Ferrari now accept that Hamilton will need to adapt his driving style to suit the SF-25 for the seven-time F1 champion to extract more of their car’s potential like Leclerc showed was possible in Saudi Arabia. But there are no guarantees of when, or if, Hamilton will be able to.
The Stevenage-born star and the Scuderia will hope Hamilton can make any of his necessary tweaks soon. They are not alone, too, as Martin Brundle finds Hamilton’s struggles at Ferrari ‘very hard’ to watch after over 30 seconds separated the Briton and Leclerc in P3 in Jeddah.
Gian Carlo Minardi has slammed Hamilton for his ‘inexcusable’ lack of pace in Saudi Arabia, as well, having been behind Leclerc in every session except Q1. The Briton finished Q1 in P9 to the Monegasque in P13 by 0.180s after Hamilton needed two runs in Q1 in Saudi Arabia.
Using an extra set of soft tyres in Q1 yielded the only time he was ahead. Hamilton was P8 to Leclerc’s P3 in FP1 by 0.506s, P13 to P4 in FP2 by 0.622s, P12 to P5 in FP3 by 0.408s, P10 to P6 in Q2 by 0.236s, P7 to P4 in Q3 by 0.531s and P7 to P3 in the race by a massive 30.969s.
