Martin Brundle explains why it is ‘very hard’ to watch ‘perplexed’ Lewis Hamilton amid Ferrari trouble

It has been a difficult start to life at Ferrari for Lewis Hamilton, having only added six points to his total tally so far after five races in 2025.

Hamilton sits seventh in the Drivers’ Championship, which is 68 points off the leader, Oscar Piastri, who has won three times so far.

Although Hamilton secured his first race win with Ferrari in China during the Sprint, it was Charles Leclerc who earned the team’s first podium at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Leclerc put in a 29-lap stint on the medium tyres to create a tyre offset to those who pitted early for the hard in the second stint, enabling him to pass George Russell for the podium.

Hamilton had to settle for P8 behind the two Mercedes drivers, which led to a rather dejected interview for the seven-time world champion. Discussing Hamilton in his latest column for Sky Sports, former F1 driver Martin Brundle has claimed it is now tough to watch him in his post-race interviews.

Martin Brundle claims it is ‘tough to watch’ Lewis Hamilton in post-race interviews

Hamilton was understandably downbeat when discussing his race after the Saudi Arabian GP, although it has become a trend in recent races for the Ferrari driver.

Ferrari has not been where they want to be, having introduced a new floor in Bahrain they hope can solve their problems that caused the double disqualification in China.

But it has been a case of short-term pain, long-term gain for Hamilton, who appears to be gritting his teeth through it all, according to Brundle.

“Hamilton would finish half a minute behind his team-mate Leclerc in seventh, albeit showing strong pace from time to time,” wrote Brundle.

“The pace is in there somewhere but it’s a very hard watch when Lewis is doing post-race interviews at the moment. He’s not happy with his performances and is clearly more than a little perplexed and disappointed.”

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Reports from Italian media suggest that Hamilton is facing difficulty adapting to Ferrari’s engine braking, as it is different to what he feels at Mercedes.

Ferrari’s is more aggressive than Mercedes, meaning Hamilton isn’t as efficient as Leclerc when it comes to using the power out of braking zones.

Hamilton experiences an ‘unexpected kick’ from the torque of his engine, which can increase understeer and problems that make him struggle over a lap.

The Briton was six tenths off Leclerc in qualifying in Saudi Arabia and could not make his tyres last in the race for as long, suggesting he will need to make adaptations to his driving style to get closer to Leclerc’s performance.