Lewis Hamilton Makes Big Confession over ‘Unexpected’ Issues at Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton accepted that he is facing some unexpected issues at Ferrari in his debut year as he hopes to recover from a slump in performance.

Lewis Hamilton Makes Big Confession over ‘Unexpected’ Issues at Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton (via Ferrari)

Lewis Hamilton‘s debut year at Ferrari has been nothing short of a disappointment. The Briton has failed to achieve any notable results in the first ten races, with only a sprint race win in China to boast about. Hamilton is giving it his all to achieve a standout result for the Scuderia. However, the 40-year-old reveals some of the unexpected issues at the team which has hindered his chances to succeed this year.

Lewis Hamilton has remained vocal about the problems he faced at Ferrari. The Briton found difficulties adjusting to the new crew and environment at Maranello, as he also fell into an argument with his race engineer. The 40-year-old is still ready to build from the ground up and rediscover himself in his debut year with the Italian constructor. Still, the seven-time champion openly accepted that there have been some issues that have caused him to take longer than usual to accustom himself to the crew.

Hamilton has made it clear that his focus is on improving for the 2026 season rather than the final year of the ground-effect era. Reflecting on his debut campaign, he called it an interesting season filled with learning. The 40-year-old admitted that adapting to a new constructor was always going to be difficult, but also acknowledged encountering some unexpected issues during the first ten rounds of 2025.

It’s definitely been an interesting season, we’ve learned a lot. I think definitely getting acclimatised to a new team is as to be expected. Of course, you can never expect the issues that you’re faced with through a season, so that’s always unexpected.

Lewis Hamilton said during Austrian GP media day

Speaking on his current focus, Lewis Hamilton reiterated that his focus wasn’t for this year anymore. The seven-time champion is focusing more on the changes in the background and setting stones for a better time in the coming season. The team that will ace the new regulations of the 2026 season is hard to predict, as Hamilton hopes Ferrari nails the regulations this time. As such, the Briton wants a better outing in the coming season as he is ready to give up on this season already.

I’m focused more, I would say, on changes in the background, foundation building stuff that we need to put in place in order to have a better 2026.

Lewis Hamilton added

Lewis Hamilton doesn’t expect ‘much changes’ with upgrades at Austrian GP

Ferrari has brought in some upgrades at the Austrian GP in hopes of gaining any improvements in the car available. Lewis Hamilton seems to have lost hope for the 2025 season and is ready to write it off already. Still, Hamilton insisted that he is glad that Maranello is bringing in upgrades, no matter how big or small, and is giving it their all to improve their condition.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc (via Getty)
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc (via Getty)

Now, speaking on the upgrades at the Austrian GP, Hamilton isn’t expecting a miracle in terms of improvements. The 40-year-old expects to find some unexpected gains in performance over the weekend and fight for significant results in the race. The Briton laid out his hopes for the upgrades to be a step forward in the right direction as the Scuderia now seems desperate to recover from the performance slump and make winning races a habit.

You always want upgrades, so I’m grateful for every little bit, whether it’s a small or big piece. What I would say is don’t expect much change. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll find something that we didn’t expect, but again, we don’t really know, so we will find out tomorrow [and] hopefully it will be a step forward in the right direction.

Lewis Hamilton noted

The 2025 season has remained underwhelming for Ferrari as they occupy the P3 position in the constructors’ standings. The Italian constructor will also have to give up on this season at some point and focus on the regulation changes of the coming season. McLaren has remained the team to beat as the rivals seem unable to match the British constructor. Lewis Hamilton has already accepted the ground reality and is looking to maximize results whenever possible.

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