Lewis Hamilton getting used to ‘totally different’ system at Ferrari that he never had at Mercedes

It has not been the dream start to life at Ferrari on track that Lewis Hamilton was expecting so far during the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Having been disqualified from the race in China due to excessive plank wear, Ferrari went cautious at the Japanese GP before introducing a new floor in Bahrain.

Ferrari’s performance has improved but it has not enabled them to get on par with McLaren, with Hamilton also regularly finishing behind Charles Leclerc.

His saving grace came during the Chinese GP Sprint race when Hamilton won the race from pole, a feature of this years season as all four Grands Prix have been won by the polesitter.

Things also got better in Bahrain when he finished inside the top ten ahead of Max Verstappen and behind Leclerc. Discussing his race on the Autosport podcast, journalist Stuart Codling shed some light on how Hamilton has been having to adapt to things that were not on his car at Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton adapting to braking system he didn’t have at Mercedes

Changing teams in F1 can always throw up unexpected challenges and while Hamilton has been working on communication with his engineer, Riccardo Adami, he is also getting used to how different their car is to drive.

Ferrari has fixed the cockpit position problem Hamilton had at Mercedes, but other systems on their car are taking slightly more time to adjust to according to Codling.

“Hamilton has talked a lot about how different it is after 12 years with one team, a car that drives a certain way. He’s now in a car that has totally different systems,” said Codling.

“He has to use engine braking, carbon industry brakes he’s used to. He’s now on Brembo’s, which have a completely different feel and bite points.So big learning experience from him.”

Luca di Montezemolo does not think Lewis Hamilton will achieve Ferrari ‘dream’

Hamilton is looking to achieve his eighth world title with Ferrari, which would see him become one of the few F1 drivers to win a world championship at 40 years old.

It would be an impressive feat and one that would cement him as the all-time greatest driver in the championship’s 75-year history.

Luca di Montezemolo was present at the Bahrain GP and when asked if he thinks Hamilton will win a title, he said that his dream would not come true.

Hamilton has always proven his doubters wrong in F1 and he will no doubt want to do the same with Di Montezemolo, who ceased his involvement with Ferrari in 2014.