F1 legend Lewis Hamilton backs Ferrari fix on major performance issue

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Suzuka, Japan, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Lewis Hamilton backs Ferrari fix on major performance issue

Ferrari have failed to catapult Hamilton to success in his debut season so far

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 9 April 2025 03:00

Lewis Hamilton has hinted at a fix on his underperforming Ferrari, which could see him vault back up the standings.

The seven-time champion has struggled intermittently with pace with the Scuderia since his winter move, including tenth place in the Australian Grand Prix to start the season.

The 40-year-old followed up his debut with a stunning first victory with Ferrari in the Chinese GP sprint, but just hours later, a change on the car meant he could only manage a starting position of P5 after qualifying, going on to deliver a shell of the performance shown earlier in Shanghai at Sunday's main event.

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Things went from bad to worse for the Maranello-based outfit and not just where Hamilton was concerned- following the Chinese GP both he and team-mate Charles Leclerc were disqualified, leading to the team making an immediate change to the ride height of their cars for this weekend's Japanese GP in hope of avoiding further penalties.

Have Ferrari found the source of 2025 performance woes?

Speaking to media after his seventh-placed finish in Suzuka, Hamilton said: "I did the best I could today. I was genuinely lacking performance compared to the cars ahead of me.

"I am not extracting the best out of the tyres."

The champion did appear hopeful that a positive pivot is on the horizon however, hinting that Ferrari may have identified the issue that is impacting their performance so far.

"We found something on the car that was underperforming for the last three races so I am hoping when that is fixed that I will start getting better results.

“Onwards and upwards."

Red Bull Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes McLaren Charles Leclerc