While his Chinese Grand Prix disqualification could be seen as a blow, Lewis Hamilton is not targeting the title anyway.

That is the verdict from the seven-time World Champion after both he and Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc were booted from the Chinese Grand Prix results following the race.

Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari: F1 2025 not a title-challenging year?

Hamilton had won from pole in the China sprint race to open his victory account for Ferrari, but qualifying and Grand Prix Sunday proved a tougher experience, Hamilton taking the chequered flag in P6, a position behind Leclerc.

But, that double points finish became zero when both Ferrari drivers were disqualified, Leclerc due to an underweight car, while Hamilton’s had exceeded the maximum permitted amount of skid block wear.

Ferrari will look to bounce back at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, but ahead of the action getting underway, Hamilton looked to put his expectations for this first season with Ferrari into context.

“I think there was a lot of hype obviously, to start the season,” he said.

“I think what’s important to remember is that this is my first year with the team. I’ve come to a team I didn’t expect to win from the get-go, and I didn’t expect us to be fighting for the championship straight away.

“I’ve just really tried to spend this time observing how the team operates and how we’re running and learn as fast and as much as I can.

“And I’ve just been highlighting to the guys that my first time driving in the rain was the first race [in Australia] on the Sunday.

“And then I didn’t actually get to do any… I was reflecting after the last two races, I didn’t get to do the Abu Dhabi test, because I was obviously still with Mercedes. All the other drivers got to test those tyres, the 2025 tyres.

“And then when I came to do my Bahrain test and do my long run, I didn’t even get to do it because we broke down. So my first long run in the dry, 20 laps, was actually the sprint race, which I’m quite happy with, how I treated those tyres.

“And then the next day, we made some changes to the car, and it wasn’t the right direction, and made it difficult through qualifying and then particularly in the race.

“But lots and lots of learnings to take from those two weeks, and I feel this really helped prepare us better for moving forwards.”

Reflecting on that disqualification in China, Hamilton added: “I didn’t feel like any frustration or anything afterwards. It is what it is.

“And of course, we’ve gone through everything. I was at the factory on Wednesday, and lots of learnings. We take the highs and lows together as a team. And obviously, it’s not what everyone’s worked hard to have happen on a race weekend. No team, no engineer, no mechanic, puts all the effort in for something like that.

“But, I’d say the most impressive thing is how the team have taken it, how they’ve worked, how they’ve turned through the data, and how we progress from here is most important.”

Hamilton and Leclerc head-to-head in F1 2025

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

Hamilton went against the grain with a two-stop strategy in Shanghai, as he explained how this is his favoured strategy for this circuit.

But after that post-race DQ, he was asked if, during a race like that, he is aware that it could be tight on something like skid block conformity, due to an unexpected strategy development or hitting too many bumps.

“Well, firstly, in the race, you drive away from the bump,” Hamilton responded. “So I was avoiding all the bumps in certain areas, I guess, exit of Turn 13, for example.

“And I couldn’t feel the car. It wasn’t bottoming, wasn’t bouncing, or anything like that. So no, was not made aware, in that respect.

“We knew it was a one-stop race. I ended up doing two because I generally like to do two stops at that track. And also, I’d not driven that tyre. I didn’t know how far it would go. As where pretty much all the other drivers that are around me have driven that tyre and knew how far it would go.”

Ferrari sit P5 in the early F1 2025 Constructors’ Championship standings ahead of the Japanese GP.

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