Lewis Hamilton hints at progress made with Ferrari’s 2025 Formula 1 car over Bahrain Grampuri weekend.
The seven-time world champion remained contracted after being qualified to a disappointing ninth place in Bahrain, but made a strong recovery drive to fifth place at Sunday’s Grand Prix.
After the race, the brighter Hamilton suggested that he “understand how the car likes to drive” after moving up and down with the Ferrari in the opening four rounds.
Ahead of Saudi Arabia’s Grand Prix this weekend, Hamilton provided insight into where he profited from his driving style.
“I don’t want to go into too much detail. It’s just a driving style (related),” Hamilton told F1.com in Jeddah.
“Every driver has a driving style and my driving style has worked over the years. Naturally it adapts over time, but this requires a little more dramatic shift. I found what I worked in the last race.
“Implementing it wherever I go is going to be a challenge. I know you need to push to get that extra bit, especially when you’re qualified.
“It’s something I just have to be patient and hardworking, and I’ll start tomorrow.
“My focus this weekend is to drive styles and really get on the circuit and get into rhythm. This is on circuits like Monaco or Baku. You have to get into rhythm as quickly as possible and you need to get progressive benefits from that.
“I have a lot to do to adapt the way I get closer to the corner, but that’s not impossible. It may take a little time, but hopefully it won’t be that long.”
How big a challenge is this for Lewis Hamilton?
Briton, 40, who is largely superior to Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, said:
“Every time I go to a new truck, I learn new ways to like to set up my car for this variety of circuits, which is different from the methods I’ve done in the past.
“It’s been a lot of positive things since last week. I hope it can be applied this weekend. Everything may not be perfect, but we have to keep building it.”
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Hamilton added:
“Charles has obviously been driving this car for a long time. The driving style he’s worked perfectly in his car is love to slide in the rear. He really likes excessive cars.
“And from the moment he reaches the weekend he hasn’t changed his car to a huge amount, and they know where to start the year before.
“I’ve now tried almost everything in my car, so I learned what I do and what doesn’t work.
“Then, from the perspective of the input I put in the car, I’ll start tweaking them and hopefully extracting more performance.”