Lewis Hamilton has spoken out on his troublesome begin to life at Ferrari, with the seven-time world champion at present dealing with an unsure future with the Italian workforce
Lewis Hamilton has hit again at criticism over his underwhelming begin at Ferrari as questions swirl about his long-term future. The 40-year-old made the change to the Italian workforce from Mercedes at first of the 2025 season.
Hamilton at present sits sixth within the Drivers’ Championship after 20 rounds, having collected 146 factors to date. His Ferrari colleague Charles Leclerc is 64 factors clear in fifth place, while Mercedes’ George Russell (258), Pink Bull’s Max Verstappen (321), and McLaren pairing Oscar Piastri (356) and Lando Norris (357) occupy the highest 4.
Amid Hamilton’s type struggles, claims emerged this week suggesting the seven-time world champion is probably not handed a contract extension when his current Ferrari settlement runs out. The multi-year deal that Hamilton – who’s but to safe a podium end for his new employer – penned when becoming a member of Ferrari in early 2024 is known to proceed till the conclusion of subsequent season.
Although stories earlier this yr indicated Hamilton’s contract may embrace a private clause permitting him to lengthen his association till the tip of 2027 at his discretion, doubtlessly leaving Ferrari with minimal affect over the choice. In an interview with Ferrari Journal, Hamilton has mounted a strong defence of his difficult spell on the Italian outfit.
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton finds out Ferrari’s view on making new contract supply after £50m settlementREAD MORE: Lewis Hamilton’s troublesome first yr at Ferrari summed up as rival exposes ‘chaos’
When questioned whether or not he anticipated his Ferrari transfer would show so important, Hamilton acknowledged there’s scope for enchancment. He mentioned: “I knew that aligning our manufacturers can be large.
“But it surely nonetheless hits you and you are like: ‘That is much more highly effective than I imagined.’ It is stunning and there have been loads of positives, though a variety of accountability and weight comes with it. Everybody expects to win right away, however Rome wasn’t in-built a day. How lengthy did it take? We’ll must look that up.”
When requested whether or not F1 followers perceive that it takes time to settle in and obtain success, Hamilton responded: “Solely if you’re inside a workforce can you actually, actually perceive the way it works and the way F1 works. You possibly can’t think about how the machine actually operates in any other case.
“I have been in F1 for thus lengthy, however after I got here to this workforce it actually was totally different once more. So I do not blame individuals for not understanding. All I can do is proceed to give attention to the issues that I can management. How I put together and work with the workforce. How I present up every day and keep constructive.”
While Hamilton could have the potential for extending his contract till 2027, stories emerged earlier this week suggesting that ‘a number of senior figures’ have hinted the British driver won’t be provided a brand new deal by Ferrari when his present settlement expires.
Hamilton’s remarks observe hypothesis linking George Russell, his former Mercedes colleague, with a possible future transfer to Ferrari. An Italian publication has instructed that Russell is ‘extremely regarded’ by Ferrari’s prime brass.
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