{"id":168860,"date":"2025-09-25T20:33:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T20:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/168860\/"},"modified":"2025-09-25T20:33:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T20:33:07","slug":"lewis-hamilton-sheds-new-light-on-choice-to-leave-mercedes-amid-initial-ferrari-f1-struggles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/168860\/","title":{"rendered":"Lewis Hamilton sheds new light on choice to leave Mercedes amid initial Ferrari F1 struggles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lewis Hamilton<\/a> has explained that he opted to embark upon a new chapter in Formula 1<\/a> with Ferrari as he had become \u201ccomplacent\u201d and \u201ccomfortable\u201d at Mercedes.<\/p>\n

Having endured a challenging end to his long-standing partnership with Mercedes, Hamilton expressed that he was revitalised as he made his dream move to Ferrari.<\/p>\n

The Briton\u2019s results have not lived up to the delirium that accompanied the much-anticipated switch, though, as he is still waiting to secure his maiden Ferrari podium.<\/p>\n

Hamilton, who trails 46 points behind team-mate Charles Leclerc, admitted that he isn\u2019t expecting that to change in 2025 with a car that continues to be \u201calien\u201d to him<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But despite boasting a record seven Drivers\u2019 titles and 105 victories, Hamilton has repudiated the notion that his initial travails at Ferrari have been uncharted territory.<\/p>\n

Asked whether there have been previous occasions where he has struggled to gel with a car, Hamilton replied to media including Motorsport Week: \u201cMany.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never just got in and just won, there were always difficult times. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the type of person\u2026 I don\u2019t like to get complacent and be comfortable, and that\u2019s really kind of where I was with the long-term relationship I had before. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd taking this step into a team that I truly believe in, and I still believe in the potential here and what we can achieve together, and I think everyone in the team does. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut no one succeeds without going through those tough patches, so I do welcome it, looking forward to the sunnier days for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LewisLewis Hamilton remains without a podium in 2025 with Ferrari<\/p>\n

Will a regulation change return Hamilton to his best?<\/p>\n

Hamilton\u2019s struggles haven\u2019t been exclusive to his current venture with Ferrari, though, as the same issues have hampered him since F1\u2019s return to ground effect cars.<\/p>\n

But with an imminent change to the regulations on the horizon in 2026, Hamilton hopes the next-generation machines are more compatible with his late-braking style.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I\u2019ve been driving this car all year long, but in my previous years, I was a part of a car that you\u2019re evolving over time, and you were comfortable with it,\u201d he said post-race at last weekend\u2019s Italian Grand Prix. \u201cYou know the driving style, inside and out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this year, I\u2019m arriving at the track and having to apply this new driving style that is still alien to me. It doesn\u2019t feel natural to a car. That\u2019s how it likes to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo through the race, I\u2019m just getting better and better and faster and faster, and I\u2019m unlocking in that and gaining confidence bit by bit, but that\u2019s not there early on in the weekend to really be able to really harness it.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo hopefully next year it\u2019s not a driving style that\u2019s alien to me. Hopefully can go back a little bit towards what I was used to.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE \u2013 The unwanted F1 first Lewis Hamilton envisages with \u2018alien\u2019 Ferrari car in 2025<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lewis Hamilton has explained that he opted to embark upon a new chapter in Formula 1 with Ferrari…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168861,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,817,826,823,945,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":["post-168860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-ferrari","tag-lewis-hamilton","tag-mercedes","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}