Carlos Sainz’s Mercedes Engine Observations Makes Sense of Lewis Hamilton’s Ongoing Ferrari Struggles

Lewis Hamilton at Maranello was arguably the most talked-about topic in F1 over the winter break. Both insiders and fans were agog to see how the seven-time world champion will handle the Prancing Horse, after his memorable 12-year stint with Mercedes.

A lot has changed for Hamilton since then. The biggest change he is dealing with is the difference in engine power in the back of his car. According to Carlos Sainz, the man Hamilton replaced at Ferrari, switching engine suppliers makes a much bigger difference to a driver’s performance than what most people think.

Sainz should know. He has driven with multiple power units throughout his decade-long career. He has experienced Renault and Ferrari engines before switching to Mercedes with Williams. And that’s made him realize just how differently the Brackley-based outfit builds its engines compared to Ferrari.

Sainz had gotten used to the Italian squad’s power, winning four races and securing 24 podium finishes. But at Williams, while getting familiar with the Mercedes engine, he has struggled to match teammate Alex Albon, just like Hamilton continues to struggle at Ferrari.

“I do feel very big differences,” Sainz said about the Ferrari power unit, ahead of this weekend’s Bahrain GP.

“It’s interesting, it is a big change and it is incredible how different two Power Units can be, and yet how close in performance as well,” the Madrid-born driver added.

Hamilton dominated F1 with Mercedes, breaking nearly every record in the sport. But adapting to a car with a completely different engine within just a few months—even if it’s a high-performing one—has proved to be a tough challenge.

The seven-time world champion joined Ferrari with hopes of contending for the title. While that dream has been hindered by the team’s failure to produce a championship-worthy car, Hamilton himself hasn’t come close to matching stablemate Charles Leclerc’s performance. Even though he won the sprint race in China, the #44 driver has lacked two to three tenths of pace on average compared to Leclerc.

Of course, the Monegasque has six years of experience with Ferrari. But it could also simply be down to how fundamentally different the Ferrari is. It doesn’t matter how much experience one may have in the sport, or how skilled a driver is—getting used to a completely new high-performance beast like an F1 car can test the best.

Take Sainz, for example—he has struggled with the braking system on the Williams FW47 for similar reasons. “The Ferrari had a certain balance. It required you to brake at a specific point—and you develop muscle memory for that,” he explained.

Hamilton already knows what problems he is facing with the SF-25.

After a disappointing P7 finish at the Japanese GP, he said, “We found something on the car that’s been underperforming for the last three races, so I’m really hoping when that’s fixed, I’ll start getting a bit better results,” he told Sky Sports F1.

In time, both Sainz and Hamilton will adapt to their respective cars—and when they do, the results could change dramatically.