Lewis Hamilton showed ‘something clearly has changed’ at Ferrari with ‘fiery’ post-race interview response

Every turn of the wheel and application of the throttle that Lewis Hamilton has done since joining Ferrari has been analysed with a fine-toothed comb.

It’s natural that after a decent but unspectacular season in his last year at Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton was going to be under the microscope during his first campaign with Ferrari.

Six races in, Hamilton has been slightly off the pace of teammate Charles Leclerc, but the deficiencies of the SF-25 have made the biggest headline.

Leclerc has admitted updates are coming to Ferrari’s car, but another interesting aspect of Hamilton’s start to the season is how he’s responded to his setbacks.

Last year, he publicly suggested that he’s no longer able to perform to his previous standards in qualifying.

However, Hamilton was jubilant during his first Ferrari interview before the season started, although his mood has become more sombre as the campaign has gone on.

At the start of the Miami Grand Prix weekend, Jennie Gow noticed Hamilton was only using single-word answers after a tough race in Saudi Arabia.

Journalist Lawrence Barretto noticed a drastic change in the 40-year-old’s demeanour after the race, despite another frustrating Grand Prix.

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Lewis Hamilton’s ‘odd’ change in behaviour during his post-race Miami Grand Prix interview

Speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast about the seven-time world champion, Barretto explained, “But the very fact that he is so frustrated suggests that he is irritated by the fact that he isn’t able to get on top of the car.

“And I thought it was actually a bit odd that in his post-race interviews, it was the first time he wasn’t monosyllabic, actually, he talked much louder.

“So, Lewis has this habit of when he’s had a bad day, he stands away from the microphone.

“He talks very quietly and he barely strings more than three or four words together.

“But after the race in Miami, which was not really much better than any other race that he’s had, bar that Sprint in China, he was much more chatty, he was much more fiery.

“He was much more explicit in what the problems were, and so something clearly has changed where maybe he feels like that race went better because he could show that he had the pace and maybe something has changed in Miami.

“I think he’s just irritated that he goes from one race to another, and he just doesn’t know what Ferrari he’s going to get.”

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Danica Patrick loved Lewis Hamilton’s response to the Miami Grand Prix

Barretto wasn’t the only person in the Miami paddock who noticed something was different about Hamilton after the most recent race.

Danica Patrick loved Hamilton’s response to Ferrari’s difficulties in Miami, explaining that a rejuvenated driver is only going to help the team move forward this season.

After qualifying, Hamilton questioned Ferrari’s tyre strategy and there was frustration in both cockpits during the race about how long it was taking to make certain decisions.

In his official post-race interview, Hamilton explained, “Overall, we’ve made some solid steps forward this weekend. P8 isn’t where we aim to be of course, and there are definitely learnings to take moving forward, but considering where we started it was a decent recovery.

“I’m starting to feel more at one with the car, which is encouraging, and I’m as motivated as ever to be fighting at the front.

“We’re still lacking a bit of pace, but everyone is working incredibly hard behind the scenes and we’re hopeful of making progress in the coming races. We’ll just keep pushing and stay focused on the work ahead.”

But Hamilton will be all too aware of the difference having a positive attitude when speaking to the media can have in the framing of the team’s season.

There will be plenty of disappointment within Ferrari’s ranks that they’re not competing for either championship this season.

Hamilton coming out with a more uplifting mindset will only serve to motivate those working on building a car that he and Leclerc can drive to victory in.