Lewis Hamilton was once more in a downbeat mindset following Friday practice at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

But it is exactly this demeanour which the seven-time World Champion has been urged to banish by Sky F1 analyst Bernie Collins, who wants the “positive” Hamilton that started Ferrari life to return.

Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari: Feel-good story over?

Hamilton realised a childhood dream by joining Ferrari for F1 2025, calling time on a 12-year Mercedes stint which featured records falling at every turn to continue his chase of that elusive eighth World Championship in Ferrari red.

But, after all the ‘pinch yourself’ moments and fanfare of the early days in this Hamilton and Ferrari story, the Brit has fallen on more sombre times recently, which has had the likes of Martin Brundle and Karun Chandhok comparing it to Hamilton’s downbeat nature in a challenging final year with Mercedes.

It was after Bahrain qualifying – where Hamilton lapped six-tenths slower than team-mate Charles Leclerc – that he declared that he was “not doing a good enough job on my side” and “just wasn’t quick today”.

There was a brief pick-me-up when Hamilton spoke of a breakthrough second stint in the Bahrain Grand Prix, but he was on a low again after Friday practice in Saudi Arabia, where the deficit to Leclerc was again six-tenths.

When asked if he could improve his performance come qualifying, Hamilton said: “Normally Saturday goes backwards, but there’s not a lot of backwards for me to go from where I am!

“Hopefully overnight we’ll make some improvements to the car.

“There’s a few bits through the session that felt good, just once we get to the soft tyre it’s not there. We’ll make some changes overnight and hope tomorrow we can come back a bit stronger.”

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And asked what result he sees as possible in qualifying, he responded: “I don’t know, mate. For me, I’m just trying to see if I can get in the top 10.”

The apparent sharp drop in morale for Hamilton was addressed by former McLaren chief performance engineer and Aston Martin strategy leader Bernie Collins.

Speaking on Sky F1’s The F1 Show, she suggested that the seven-time World Champion needs to find that “upbeat” mentality which was so evident at the start of his Ferrari career, if he is to discover the “magic” again.

“Obviously, the pace is there in the car somewhere,” said Collins.

“It’s not like Lewis, it’s not the Lewis that we’ve seen so far this year at Ferrari.

“He started the year with such an upbeat, such a positive story. So, he just needs to get that back, a little bit of that magic.”

Hamilton sits P7 in the current Drivers’ Championship standings, seven points and two places behind Leclerc, who – despite that China Sprint win – Hamilton has not yet finished ahead of in a grand prix since joining Ferrari.

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