Hamilton has ‘absolute 100% faith’ in Ferrari

A smiling Lewis Hamilton wearing a red Ferrari cap

Lewis Hamilton won the sprint race in China two weeks ago but was disqualified from the main grand prix

 

 

Venue: Suzuka Dates: 4-6 April Race start: 06:00 BST on Sunday

 

Coverage: Live radio commentary of practice and qualifying on BBC 5 Sports Extra, race live on BBC Radio 5 Live. Live text updates on the BBC Sport website and app

 

Lewis Hamilton says he has “absolute 100% faith” in Ferrari despite their difficult start to the season.

 

The seven-time champion won the sprint race in China last time out but struggled in the grand prix in Shanghai and the season-opener in Australia.

 

Ferrari are only fifth in the constructors’ championship after Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc were disqualified from fifth and sixth places in China for technical infringements.

 

Briton Hamilton said: “I saw someone said something about whether I’m losing faith in the team, which is complete rubbish.

 

“I have absolute 100% faith in this team.

 

“There was obviously a huge amount of hype at the beginning of the year. I don’t know if everyone was expecting us to be winning from race one and winning the championship in our first year.

 

“That wasn’t my expectation. I know that I’m coming into a new culture, a new team and it’s going to take time.”

 

 

Hamilton emphasised the difficulties in adapting to a new team, especially around the specifics of the technicalities of a new car.

 

“On reflection, I was actually quite happy with how I’ve adapted in just those two races,” he said.

 

“I’ve definitely got a lot of work to do to make sure that it’s better moving forward.

 

“It’s just understanding the technical side of this thing, understanding all the tools that I have. It likes to be driven differently.

 

“After analysing the last two races, you’ve got the first race (in Australia)… I generally didn’t feel great in the car at the beginning, but my pace wasn’t too bad in the first two days.

 

“And Sunday was the first time I’d ever driven the car in the rain, and I was learning a lot throughout the race.”

 

Hamilton said that he had also been affected by lost running time in pre-season testing in Bahrain and being forced to miss a test in Abu Dhabi at the end of last year when other drivers tried out the new 2025 tyre designs.

 

Because of that, he said China “was the first time I’d actually done a long run” in the dry.

 

He added: “Every other driver here got to do Abu Dhabi tests and try the 2025 tyre. I didn’t. When we went into the race run in Bahrain, the car broke down, so I didn’t actually get to do a long run on any of the tyres.

 

“So, the sprint race was the first time I’d actually done a 20-lap stint on the tyre.

 

“And then, in the race, it was the first time I’d ever tried the C2 (compound). So, I was just learning that through the race.

 

“You don’t just put the tyre on and know what it’s going to do. I definitely feel like I was starting to feel the onward effect of not being able to do the test at the end of the year.”

 

Swapped seats & shaky starts: What to know ahead of Japanese Grand Prix

Despite the problems they have had so far, which leaves Ferrari 61 points behind McLaren in the constructors’ championship, Leclerc said the Italian team can “still have an amazing season”.

 

The Monegasque – who finished ahead of Hamilton in China, despite a front wing damaged on the first lap in a collision between the two Ferrari drivers – pointed to the team’s progress in 2024, which started slowly but ended with them narrowly missing out on winning the constructors’ championship for the first time since 2008.

 

Leclerc said: “If we go back to last year, looking at the first few races, the situation in terms of performance was quite a bit worse than where we are now.

 

“We kind of expected Red Bull to dominate the whole season, and by taking the points that were available at the beginning of the season with the performance we had, we ended up actually fighting for the championship – which was way above our expectations.

 

“There’s definitely not that feeling within the team at the moment.

 

“However, we do feel we haven’t maximised what we could have in the first two races, and that’s frustrating.

 

“But it doesn’t mean we cannot recover. The season is still very long. Small steps after small steps – we can still have an amazing season.”

 

Lewis Hamilton looks concerned on the grid in China

Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari career has got off to an underwhelming start

 

Former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo was left “horrified” by the disqualification of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at the Chinese Grand Prix.

 

That is the claim of former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who has described Ferrari’s double blow in Shanghai as the biggest “disgrace” in the team’s history.

 

Former Ferrari boss ‘horrified’ by Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc double DSQ

Leclerc and Hamilton finished fifth and sixth respectively at last month’s Chinese GP, but were both excluded from the official classification for separate offences.

 

While Leclerc’s car was found to be underweight, Hamilton was disqualified for excessive wear to the skid blocks of his SF-25.

 

It marked the second time in the last 18 months that the seven-time World Champion has been excluded for excessive skid-block wear, having suffered the same fate in his penultimate season with Mercedes at the 2023 United States Grand Prix.

 

Hamilton’s only previous disqualification came at the 2009 Australian Grand Prix, where the then-McLaren driver was punished for misleading the FIA’s stewards.

 

 

Ecclestone was reunited with Di Montezemolo at the 80th birthday party of music legend Eric Clapton last weekend.

 

And he has revealed that the former Ferrari chairman was still smarting from the disqualification of Hamilton and Leclerc a week on from the Chinese GP.

 

Ecclestone told Swiss-German publication Blick: “I met the former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo there.

 

“He was horrified by Ferrari’s two disqualifications in China. Italy had never experienced such a disgrace since the start of the World Championship!”

 

Leclerc’s car was found to be marginally below the minimum weight limit after the Chinese GP, falling just one kilogram short of the 800kg requirement after fuel was drained from his car.

 

With Leclerc on a one-stop strategy in Shanghai, it has been speculated that excessive tyre wear could have contributed to his disqualification after Mercedes driver George Russell suffered the same issue at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.

 

Ecclestone believes Leclerc could have easily avoided a disqualification by making more of an effort to collect what is commonly known as ‘pickup’ – discarded pieces of tyre rubber off the racing line – on the cooldown lap to increase the weight of his car.

 

He added: “There was clearly no control centre to check the cars after qualifying.

 

“There has been an age-old rule about being underweight for decades.

 

“Drive through the mud after crossing the finish line and collect as many stones as possible with the tyres in the gravel.”

 

Ecclestone’s comments come after a report in Italy claimed that Ferrari have made a breakthrough in their understanding of the SF-25 with extensive work in the simulator since the Chinese GP.

 

It is said that the team have trialled 20 different suspension configurations in the simulator, with Ferrari set to run a different combination of front and rear adjustments in Japan compared to the first two races of the season.

 

Ferrari are thought to be convinced that there are no basic flaws with their 2025 design concept beyond the SF-25 extreme sensitivity to ride-height changes, with the team hopeful that the true pace of the car will be unlocked at Suzuka this weekend.

 

It emerged after the season opener in Australia that Ferrari were forced to run in a compromised state in Melbourne after discovering that the car was running too close to the ground in Friday practice.

 

 

Lewis Hamilton’s latest social media post sparked heartfelt reactions from his followers.

 

As the United Kingdom celebrated Mother’s Day, the Formula 1 star once again captured the attention of his massive fanbase by dedicating a special post to his two moms: his biological mother, Carmen Larbalestier and his stepmother, Linda Hamilton.

 

In an Instagram post, the Ferrari driver shared a rare glimpse into his close relationship with both women, expressing how “grateful” he is for their love and support.

 

The British racer began his post by describing both of his moms as the “most beautiful women” who have kept him “going in life.”

 

View the original article to see embedded media.

 

The 40-year-old described his biological mother as “selfless, loving, devoted and nurturing,” while he praised his stepmother for always encouraging his creativity.

 

Interestingly, Lewis Hamilton’s Instagram post not only garnered beautiful words from his followers but also caused them to swoon over one special photo.

 

“Last pic is peak mum,” one wrote.

 

“Last pic is so beautiful,” another added.

 

“Your mama on slide 4 taking a pic of you!!! Will always be my favorite,” a fan chimed in.

 

“Last pic is a very proud mom,” a social media user noticed.

 

The same goes for another fan who wrote, “Mama proud of her little bambino,” while another added, “So precious. As a Mum, that last pic hit me with all the feels!!”

 

Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton strolls into COTA Jay Janner,

Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton strolls into COTA Jay Janner,  Jay Janner&comma

Fans couldn’t stop talking about the photo of Lewis Hamilton with his biological mother, who was seen taking a picture of him as he greeted the crowd. The moment clearly reflected her pride in her son.

 

 

 

Lewis Hamilton in street clothes at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton

 

David Coulthard spilled the beans on a choppy helicopter ride for he and Lewis Hamilton on their way to do an F1 feature for the BBC.

 

Not that Hamilton was aware of it though, as he spent the full thing fast asleep.

 

Lewis Hamilton ‘must have been out partying’

During an appearance on the Red Flags Podcast, 13-time grand prix winner Coulthard was shown a series of memorable photographs and was asked to set the scene for how they came about.

 

One of those was an image of he and Hamilton walking side-by-side in pilot gear, in front of a line of Red Arrows planes, as Coulthard told the story of what was going on.

 

As it turned out, the journey to get to RAF Scampton where that photo was taken was just as eventful!

 

“Well, this was a feature we did for BBC, when I was working for them,” Coulthard began.

 

 

“Red Arrows, which is our display team for the Royal Air Force, we went over to, I think it’s RAF Scampton, and I remember I picked up Lewis in a helicopter in Battersea, which is the only place you can land a helicopter in London.

 

“If you follow Tom Cruise, you’ll see him very often in London getting out of his helicopter, he is usually at Battersea.

 

“And anyway, we took off from Battersea, I sat in the front with the pilot, Lewis was in the back, and he fell asleep. He must have been either out partying or whatever the night before.

 

“And we hit fog on the way to the airfield, and we basically had to put down in a field, in a cornfield, because they knew there was big wind generators between Battersea and getting to the airfield.

 

“And we sat there probably for a good 45 minutes. The whole time Lewis is asleep! We eventually take off. We eventually turn up at the airfield, late. There wasn’t any fog. And then we got to go up with the RAF together.

 

“And then he drove his Formula 1 car in a sort of shootout along the runway. And I have a picture in my office wall here, actually, where I’m in the jet fighter, and he is in the Formula 1 car. And, yeah, it was just a fun experience. It was a great feature.

 

“And then a few years later, I did a feature with Tom Cruise, where he drove the Formula 1 car. And then we did it again with Mark Webber and Steve Jones, where Tom and ourselves drove around Silverstone in Porsche road cars ahead of the Top Gun Maverick launch, and we got to do some of those iconic lines.”

 

Speaking of Tom Cruise, Coulthard expressed his belief that the iconic actor would have been a “very natural fit” for the lead role of the upcoming F1 movie, in which Brad Pitt plays that lead role, portraying ‘Sonny Hayes’.

 

The movie – due to be released June 25, 2025 internationally and June 27 in the United States and Canada – is revolutionary for the fact that filming took place among the real-life F1 action, the Apex GP team taking its place as an unofficial 11th team at race weekends.

 

Seven-time World Champion Hamilton served as a co-producer for the film.

 

“He was on it,” said Coulthard about Cruise during those features, “and you only had to tell him once how all the procedures were.

 

“And I guess that’s because he’s a pilot, you know. A helicopter looks a lot more complicated to operate than a Formula 1 car.

 

“I can’t really recall where he was lap time wise, but he was, to my mind, and with the greatest respect to Brad Pitt, who I don’t know, haven’t met and haven’t seen him drive, I would have thought Tom would have been a very natural fit for the F1 movie in terms of driving and leading man.

 

“But, that’s fallen to Brad, and we’re all curious to see how the movie looks.”

 

Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification in China has raised eyebrows about a rumoured Ferrari flaw.

 

Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the Chinese GP

Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the Chinese GP

Ferrari’s 2025 F1 car has come under the microscope after a disappointing start to the season.

 

F1’s most iconic team mysteriously struggled for pace all weekend in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc and new signing Lewis Hamilton coming home an underwhelming eighth and 10th.

 

Things appeared to improve at the Chinese Grand Prix when Hamilton converted his first pole position into a commanding sprint race victory, but Ferrari’s challenge faded in regular qualifying and the main grand prix.

 

Leclerc and Hamilton could only finish fifth and sixth on the road but were excluded from the results for different technical infringements which left their respective cars illegal.

 

Hamilton’s disqualification came because his plank was found to have excessive wear by half a millimetre, while Leclerc’s car was 1kg under the 800kg weight limit.

 

Ferrari’s ride height has been a topic of discussion since the first round in Melbourne, where there were whispers in the paddock that the team had to raise their car due to plank wear concerns.

 

The Scuderia have not commented on the rumoured issue but Hamilton’s exclusion in Shanghai has raised eyebrows about a possible fundamental flaw with the SF-25.

 

“It would be standard for everyone to raise the car in Australia because of the bumps and they are detrimental to downforce and plank wear,” Sky Sports F1’s Bernie Collins said.

 

“In Australia, Ferrari were not that strong. Some of it was down to strategy but the performance in qualifying was not that strong, so maybe they have a car that’s very sensitive to ride height in terms of aero performance. All of these cars are because they’re all ground-effect cars, but maybe it is more sensitive than others.

 

“I would be surprised that the Sprint in China was not a good enough indication that you would be illegal on plank wear. If they have got what we would call a ‘peaky’ ride height, which means there’s a very small optimum ride height that you can have a good aerodynamic platform in, that is an issue for a car.

 

“You want to be fit to run a range of ride heights because of all these range of tracks. For example, in Austria there are intense kerbs so you want to add a bit of ride height there.

 

“Maybe the aero platform is too peaky.”

 

Sprint weekend set-up changes not ‘unusual’

Hamilton claimed pole and the sprint win before things went downhill

Hamilton claimed pole and the sprint win before things went downhill

Following a low-key qualifying performance, seven-time world champion Hamilton admitted the set-up changes he made after his sprint win made his Ferrari more difficult to drive around the Shanghai International Circuit.

 

Collins explained it is not “unusual” for teams to make set-up changes over the course of a sprint weekend.

 

“What’s different between this and Austin two years ago [when Hamilton’s Mercedes was excluded for excessive plank wear], you were not allowed to change the set-up between the Sprint and main race, so when you got the plank-wear read in the Sprint, you couldn’t react to it,” she said.

 

“In the Sprint, there was a lot more management than the main race because they did more laps pushing on a hard tyre, whereas on the medium they did a lot of management in the Sprint, so it wouldn’t surprise me if the wear and fuel usage went up in the main race.”

 

Assessing whether Hamilton’s two-stop strategy could have played a role, Collins added: “The two-stopper will lead to pushing more on each lap. The only slight counter to that for Lewis is because he did two stints on the hard, he goes through that graining phase, which does control the pace a little bit.

 

“The only other thing for Lewis is, I don’t know if he had any damage from the Leclerc incident? The FIA say there were ‘no mitigating circumstances’ and if Ferrari could prove damage or lack of downforce, they would have been able to do that but they didn’t.

 

“As for Leclerc, who did a one-stop, people were saying maybe a one-stop was possible. They didn’t know how much the hard tyre would wear, so they didn’t have an estimated mass loss for the hard tyre but they are allowed to take pick-up and they changed Leclerc’s front wing.

 

“I don’t know where the loss in mass has come from.”

 

Bump in the road for Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton

It has not been the fairytale start to life at Ferrari Hamilton would have dreamed of

It has not been the fairytale start to life at Ferrari Hamilton would have dreamed of

The double disqualification meant Ferrari lost 18 points in China, marking a huge blow to their title aspirations in both world championships.

 

After just two races, Ferrari find themselves fifth in the constructors’ championship and 61 points behind McLaren, while Leclerc and Hamilton are already well adrift in the drivers’ standings.

 

“It’s a bump because Ferrari had the wrong strategy in Australia, in China they have been disqualified so should have done better, and they arguably had the wrong strategy because Lewis should not have pitted for a second time,” Collins said.

 

“Lewis was really struggling in the car on Sunday and the car was illegal. The changes in set-up didn’t react in the way he wanted to, or he wouldn’t have been so slow in the race, and they’ve been illegal.

 

“So it is a bump. If they go through it and they find whatever’s wrong, then Lewis can get over that pretty quickly. But it’s one of these little things that adds to the lack of trust.

 

“When Sebastian Vettel came to us at Aston Martin, I really wanted him to think we were good at our jobs.

 

“I really wanted him to go ‘if she calls me to pit, I’m going to do it’ because I trust the team. Now we have had a strategy thing, a radio thing and now disqualification, so it makes the driver unsure.”

 

Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc walk together at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix

Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc

 

Ferrari has moved to explain the reasons why the cars of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc failed FIA inspections in China.

 

This comes after Leclerc’s SF-25 was found to be underweight, while Hamilton’s skidblock wear was deemed over the permitted limit, with the result being disqualification for both Ferrari drivers from the Chinese Grand Prix.

 

Ferrari explain Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc DQ

Ferrari were looking at a double points finish when the chequered flag flew in Shanghai, Leclerc having crossed the line P5 and Hamilton P6.

 

However, their tally for Grand Prix Sunday became zero when both cars were disqualified after the race.

 

And in a statement, Ferrari has explained what happened to cause these different issues for their drivers, which both inflicted a disqualification penalty.

 

“Following the FIA post-race scrutineering both our cars were found not to conform to the regulations for different reasons,” Ferrari began.

 

 

“Car 16 [Leclerc] was found to be underweight by 1 kg and car 44’s [Hamilton’s] rearward skid wear was found to be 0.5mm below the limit.

 

“Charles was on a one-stop strategy today and this meant his tyre wear was very high, causing the car to be underweight.

 

“With regard to Lewis’ skid wear, we misjudged the consumption by a small margin.

 

“There was no intention to gain any advantage. We will learn from what happened today and make sure we don’t make the same mistakes again.

 

“Clearly it’s not the way we wanted to end our Chinese GP weekend, neither for ourselves, nor for our fans whose support for us is unwavering.”

 

Leclerc’s DSQ closely resembles the fate suffered by Mercedes’ George Russell at last season’s Belgian Grand Prix.

 

 

Russell thought he had pulled off a one-stop strategy against all odds to take victory, but after the race his car was found to be underweight.

 

A leading theory at the time was that the unexpected one-stop had contributed to higher-than-expected tyre wear and thus an underweight car, as Ferrari say happened to Leclerc in China.