Lewis Hamilton’s ex-teammate slams F1 champion over ‘not difficult’ Ferrari move

Valtteri Bottas pointed out that things should not have been so difficult for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton (via Ferrari)

Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver in the history of Formula 1. When the 40-year-old announced his move to Scuderia Ferrari for 2025, it was seen as a fairytale driver transfer. The Briton was finally joining the most iconic name in the world of racing. Unfortunately, Hamilton’s switch has been nothing short of a nightmare so far. Now, his former teammate, Valtteri Bottas has claimed that things should not have been so difficult for the seven-time world champion.

The F1 star had high expectations for his move to Scuderia Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton wants to bring glory back to Maranello and end the Scuderia’s long title drought. However, things have been far different so far. Hamilton has only managed a single sprint victory in the first five races, with no regular battles at the front of the grid.

Moreover, the seven-time world champion has faced trouble adjusting to his new team. After spending his entire career with Mercedes-powered cars, Lewis Hamilton is not yet comfortable with the Ferrari power units and its various settings. This has made things more challenging for the 40-year-old who is still not as comfortable as teammate Charles Leclerc.

Valtteri Bottas, who made a similar switch from Mercedes to Ferrari power in 2022 with Alfa Romeo (now Stake), claimed that moving from one engine to another was not so difficult. The Finn insisted that drivability was not so much of an issue, despite some minor differences.

It’s not that difficult. I don’t find the differences that big, apart from something minor regarding drivability.
Valtteri Bottas told Automoto.it

Bottas highlighted the most complex aspect of such a change. The 35-year-old pointed out that the nomenclature of various things were different and that took some time to get used to. However, once a driver had grown accustomed to these differences, it would become easy for them to race as usual.

The most complex thing is to manage the adjustments, as the nomenclatures are different. Once you learn the basics, you manage without too much effort.
Valtteri Bottas added

Helmut Marko asserts ‘desperate’ Lewis Hamilton waiting for Ferrari jackpot

Lewis Hamilton (via Ferrari), Helmut Marko, Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Lewis Hamilton still ‘adapting’ to Italian culture at Ferrari

Scuderia Ferrari is known to be the most passionate team in Formula 1. The team is synonymous with Italian heritage and this carries over into the work culture at Maranello. This would be in stark difference to the working atmosphere Lewis Hamilton has experienced at Mercedes or even McLaren. As such, Bottas highlighted that the Briton was still getting used to a lot of things at the Italian team.

Fred Vasseur, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc (via Motorsport Week)

The Finnish driver made it clear that moving to Ferrari after over a decade at the Silver Arrows was no small change. Lewis Hamilton was now exposed to Italian culture, which is far different to how things were back at Brackley. Nevertheless, Valtteri Bottas insisted that Hamilton is doing a good job to adapt to his new team. The 40-year-old has even taken Italian lessons to get closer to his new colleagues.

Clearly it is a big change, after such a long experience with Mercedes, working with the same people. And it’s a different culture, the Italian culture, compared to the Anglo-German culture of Mercedes. I think he is doing well, although he is still adapting and needs time.
Valtteri Bottas explained

Certainly, Lewis Hamilton is in dire need to improve his performances. Questions over his future in the sport are already being asked. Though, the seven-time world champion seems determined to carry on with his Ferrari contract for now. Nevertheless, even the Scuderia might reconsider its position if Hamilton fails to get comfortable with the car in the coming races. The Tifosi would be hoping that the Briton bounces back at the next race in Miami.

Tags: Lewis Hamilton Valtteri Bottas

#About the Author

Armaan Agarwal

(2572 Articles Published)

Armaan Agarwal is a Motorsport Sub-editor and Content Manager at Firstsportz. He has written over 2500 articles with around 1000 edited pieces under his belt. Armaan has years of experience in the field of journalism, having followed Formula 1 and NASCAR for almost a decade. Nico Rosberg's title victory at the 2016 Abu Dhabi GP against Lewis Hamilton remains engraved in his memory. He started his journey with his own motorsport blog in 2017. At Firstsportz, Armaan provides deep insight into the sport for fans through his special editorial pieces. Armaan has several other skills, including social media content creation, script writing, and debating. He completed his Bachelors of Arts in Mass Communication with a gold medal from St. Xavier’s University Kolkata. Presently, he is pursuing his Post Graduation in Broadcast Journalism at the India Today Media Institute with a keen eye at the ever-evolving dynamics of a newsroom. Apart from motorsport, he is an avid reader and keeps himself up to date with current affairs.

Comments

Please login to join the discussion.

Be the first to comment!