Lewis Hamilton has had a disappointing start to his first Formula 1 race in Italy as a Ferrari driver, with the Briton off the pace throughout practice at Imola this Friday.
The 40-year-old is still yet to feel totally comfortable with the SF-25 after Hamilton switched Mercedes for Ferrari before the 2025 F1 season. He is only seventh in the drivers’ standings after the first six rounds with a mere 41 points, and is also still yet to secure a podium finish.
Hamilton’s hopes for taking his maiden rostrum as a Ferrari driver in the Scuderia’s backyard this weekend at Imola also seem slim following FP1 and FP2 for the Emilia Romagna GP. The seven-time world champion took P5 in first practice, but fell to P11 in the afternoon session.
Stevenage native Hamilton failed to maintain the promise he threatened by finishing FP1 only 0.096 seconds slower than pace-setter Oscar Piastri of McLaren. His deficit to the Australian grew to 0.650s in FP2, while his teammate Charles Leclerc sealed P6 with a 0.475s margin.
Guenther Steiner tells Lewis Hamilton to change how he speaks to his Ferrari race engineer, Riccardo Adami
Hamilton will have wanted to end the first day at the Emilia Romagna GP in a better position after the frustrations that Ferrari endured last time out at the Miami Grand Prix. Leclerc and the Briton could only clinch P7 and P8 in Florida with 57.036s and 60.186s deficits to Piastri.
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How the Scuderia handled team orders even saw Hamilton vent his intensifying anger over Ferrari’s team radio during the Miami GP. The Briton often took his frustrations out on race engineer Riccardo Adami, but Guenther Steiner thinks Hamilton must change his approach.
“You can’t come to a new team, a new car, and be at the front right from the start,” Steiner told sport.de. He also added regarding Hamilton’s sarcastic radio messages including telling Adami to, ‘Have a tea break’, as Ferrari dithered: “Lewis needs to be a bit more adaptable.”
Lewis Hamilton’s tetchy radio messages highlight the tension from underperforming at Ferrari
Hamilton could not hide his anger as Ferrari wasted almost four laps before ordering Leclerc to switch positions in the Miami GP in the hope of the Briton catching Mercedes ace Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The delay ensured Hamilton lost the peak performance of his medium tyres.
But his anger over the Scuderia’s radio in Florida also highlighted the tension that the Briton holds now that Ferrari feel Hamilton is performing well below their expectations. He has not finished any Grand Prix higher than the P5 that the seven-time champion earned in Bahrain.
Instead, his best results have come in F1 Sprint events, as Hamilton won the Shanghai Sprint from pole position and secured P3 in the Miami Sprint after pitting earlier than most drivers for slick tyres. His strategic gamble after the early rain masked Hamilton qualifying in just P7.
