Lewis Hamilton is proud of how Ferrari have withstood the criticism which has greeted their decline in form at the start of 2025.
The team won two of the last six races last season and ended the year 14 points behind constructors’ champions McLaren. But since Hamilton joined the team’s form has dipped.
Aside from Hamilton’s victory in the sprint race in Shanghai, the team have only had Charles Leclerc’s podium finish in Jeddah to celebrate. Both the team’s cars were disqualified after the Chinese Grand Prix and they fell to fifth-fastest among the teams in Miami, where they were beaten by Williams.
Despite that, Hamilton said he made more progress acclimatising to his new team in Miami. “I think that we improved our process through the weekend in terms of how we approach the sessions,” he told the official F1 channel. “I definitely feel like I’m getting more accustomed to what this car needs in terms of inputs and set-up.
“I think my collaboration with the team is improving weekend-in, weekend-out. So there was definitely lots of positives to take from the weekend, even though we only finished eighth, for example. I really felt like there was a lot of positives to take form it and those are the ones I chose to take with me rather than look at all the negatives.”
However he admitted that was “not enough” and praised his team for remaining motivated as they face criticism for their performances.
“We have to look at the things that we didn’t do so well, and we’re critical of ourselves. We take accountability, each and every single one of us, and then look at how we can rectify those [points]. That’s what we’ve been doing.
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“I’m really proud of the guys, because we’re taking a beating in the media and people’s comments, people judging. I’m just proud that each weekend that they turn up with their heads up. They try, they give absolutely everything, and that’s all you can ever ask.”
This weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix will be the first time Hamilton has competed on an Italian track as a Ferrari driver. “I just feel like I’m at another race but it is obviously a very special race for us as a team,” he said.
“I guess it’ll be different once I’m on track in the red car in the homeland of the team. It’ll probably become more of a realisation through the weekend.”
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2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
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