Even for a 7X World Champion, adjusting to a completely new, ultra high-performance, hypertuned, and hypersensitive race car at Ferrari is not proving to be easy. After having driven Mercedes-powered cars for well over a decade, Lewis Hamilton is struggling to adjust at Ferrari. is not proving to be as easy as pressing the start switch and putting foot to pedal.
Of course, it was always expected that he would take some time to adjust. What has been unexpected, however, is just how much of a struggle it has been for him and how long it is taking. In fact, it appears to be a tougher task than anyone, including Hamilton himself, could have anticipated.
After finishing fifth in the Bahrain GP on Sunday, the 40-year-old explained how he needs to forget everything he learned at Mercedes and start afresh with Ferrari if he really wants to succeed at the Italian outfit.
“I think what’s clear, as humans, we get really stuck in our ways,” he said while explaining the struggles he has been having to get to terms with the SF-25. “I’ve been driving a certain style and way for a long time with the same team, a new car has new systems… this car requires a different driving style, I’m adjusting to that, slowly getting into that“.
Every race weekend, he has been learning something new about the SF-25, and Bahrain was no exception. After his race engineer, Riccardo Adami, asked him to use “Mode FW” during the safety car period, Hamilton was caught off guard and immediately asked the Italian what that was.
“What’s mode FW?” a clearly surprised Hamilton asked. Adami replied that it was a mode that would help him during the safety car period. This mode seems unique to Ferrari, and it could just be one that helps their cars slow down to match the safety car speed limit.
The moment Lewis let out a little laugh learning a new Ferrari setting…
| Ricky : Mode FW please
| Lewis : Whats mode FW? Hahaa
| Ricky : To help us under safety car…
– F1 2025 Bahrain –pic.twitter.com/zfnHPGHV4Y
— sim (@simsgazette) April 13, 2025
Despite all the time Hamilton is taking to adjust to life at Maranello, he seems to be taking only positives from the Bahrain GP weekend.
Hamilton takes positives from decent performance at Bahrain GP
The Bahrain GP once again showed that Hamilton’s Achilles heel this season has been qualifying and that he can still deliver during the actual race. After qualifying only ninth, the Briton managed to make up four places to finish fifth, a drive that earned him Driver of the Day.
However, from next week onwards, Hamilton also expects to improve in qualifying after he learned something new about the SF-25 this weekend.
“I think I have figured out how the car likes to [be driven]. Hopefully, if I can apply that next week, if I can qualify better, then I can have a much better weekend [at the Saudi Arabian GP],” he told Sky Sports F1.
With Hamilton winning the Chinese GP sprint race earlier this season after qualifying on pole, he has already shown the kind of results he can achieve if he has a good qualifying session.
