Weathering the choppy waves of his new career with Ferrari it is still clear that every time Lewis Hamilton climbs into the car the seven-time Formula One champion believes he is taking a step forward, regardless of how it seems to others. He remains unfazed by the process of adapting, having long considered it would be an evolution, even given the weight of all the expectation and scrutiny. This weekend at the fifth round of the season in Saudi Arabia, Ferrari and Hamilton are optimistic they will be making another stride in bridging the gap to the dominant McLaren. It was always going to be impossible for Hamilton and Ferrari to manage expectations around his debut season. The greatest driver of the modern era finally donning the rosso corsa to likely see out his career with the sport’s most famous and most successful marque, and potentially ending a Ferrari drivers’ title drought that stretches back to 2007. Yet before the season had even begun Hamilton was advocating caution, aware how complex it would be to adapt to a new car, new personnel and new methodologies after so much success at Mercedes over 12 years. So it proved in the opening four rounds where Hamilton’s relationship with his new family has been under intense examination, a process not helped by the Ferrari playing catch-up at the same time Hamilton is learning his way around the new machinery. However, the British driver is no stranger to the spotlight and at the Jeddah Corniche circuit was handling it with equanimity. “It’s to be expected, Ferrari is the greatest team in Formula One history, it’s that special,” he said. “Of course more stories are written about it and people have opinions and it’s not always been smooth sailing. So, from my perspective, you can’t work with a team and change things overnight.” This considered approach has been the ballast around which Hamilton and Fred Vasseur have held their ship steady, as the Ferrari team principal noted after the last round in Bahrain: “You won’t replace 12 years of collaboration in two weeks or two races.” He also noted in Saudi Arabia that it was a two-way street. “Lewis is coming with his own experience with 20 years of F1 with different teams,” he said. “It’s always good to have someone join the team with this kind of experience and vision, to help us to improve.” For Hamilton it is also more than just a matter of adjusting to the team. He is in a new car with distinct characteristics and adapting a driving style that was for so long attuned to the Mercedes. He felt he had advanced again in Bahrain, returning his best finish this season of fifth and where, during the second stint, he believes he may be finding a groove. Still, the caution remains. “It’s like we’re riding a rollercoaster together, up and down and I have no doubts we will get to where we plan to be, it’s just going to take time,” he said. “There are changes that are short term that we’ll do together, keep all the greatness and keep building all the areas that we could be stronger in. Some of those are short term and some of them are longer term.” A tilt at the title already looks to be wishful thinking, however, with McLaren’s Lando Norris leading the championship by three points from his teammate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in third, eight points back. Hamilton is seventh, 52 points adrift, yet the atmosphere at Ferrari remains upbeat. Vasseur is convinced they can close the gap to McLaren and challenge for wins, given how strongly they successfully developed their car over the past two seasons and even a single victory would doubtless be enormously meaningful for Hamilton. Ferrari hope to demonstrate they are on course to do so in Saudi Arabia. The team brought a new floor upgrade to Bahrain to address the issues with a narrow operating window and its weakness through high-speed corners, where running a low ride-height is key for aerodynamic efficiency. In Bahrain it was felt the floor had delivered but the real test will be in Jeddah, a high-speed, low-drag track of very fast corners joined by two hairpins at either end. If they have made another really positive step forward, Hamilton and Ferrari might well consider they are genuinely on the move. In first practice, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly topped the timesheets, albeit in the unrepresentative daytime running for what is a night race, just in front of Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Hamilton in eighth and Verstappen, once more struggling with the balance of his Red Bull, ninth. In the night running of the second session, Norris was on top, one-tenth clear of Piastri, the McLarens looking strong again, with Verstappen improving in third and Leclerc fourth.
Author: Giles Richards