Lewis Hamilton has revealed he’s had to cancel personal plans to dedicate a full week to working at Ferrari’s Maranello factory, following another frustrating race weekend in Saudi Arabia.
A tough start with the Scuderia
Hamilton’s move from Mercedes to Ferrari was the biggest off-season story in F1 — but five races in, results have been underwhelming. His best finish is fifth, and at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, he ended up seventh, more than 30 seconds behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
In qualifying, he was six tenths off Leclerc, and after the race, he didn’t sugar-coat it:
“It was disastrous today in terms of pace. I had no pace at all.”
Plans cancelled, focus activated
Speaking to DAZN Spain, Hamilton said he’s scrapping his post-race plans and committing to a “work week” at Maranello, hoping to get answers.
No vacation, no downtime — just data, debriefs, and probably long meetings with engineers.
Leclerc echoes the same concerns
Leclerc, despite securing Ferrari’s first podium of 2025, isn’t celebrating either. He says the team’s biggest weakness is in qualifying, with race pace being “fine” but useless when starting too far down the grid.
Both drivers will be working from Maranello this week, a clear signal that Ferrari knows improvement must come — fast.
All eyes on Miami
Ferrari’s technical team introduced a new floor in Bahrain and a revised rear wing in Saudi Arabia. But these changes haven’t closed the gap to Red Bull or McLaren.
A larger upgrade package is scheduled for Miami on May 4. That event could define the team’s season — either as a launchpad or as a painful turning point.