Lewis Hamilton “doesn’t blame” Formula 1 fans for not understanding how long it will take to succeed at Ferrari after suffering a disappointing 2025 season. The seven-time world champion made the spectacular move to the Italian outfit this year after spending 12 successful seasons with Mercedes, which brought him six titles in addition to his 2008 crown with McLaren.
But Hamilton is largely having a hard time at Ferrari: He is in sixth place in the championship, 64 points behind teammate Charles Leclerc. In addition, the Brit has yet to achieve a Grand Prix podium finish after 20 races.
His sprint victory in Shanghai was an outlier, but the 40-year-old’s optimism remains undiminished as Formula 1 introduces new regulations in 2026. This offers the chance to start from scratch.
Formula 1 is very complex
When Ferrari Magazine asked Hamilton that Formula 1 experts need to know how long it takes to adapt to a new team, the Brit said: “That’s not a lot of people. Only when you’re in a team can you really and truly understand how it works and how Formula 1 works.”
“Otherwise you can’t imagine how the machinery really works. I’ve been in Formula 1 for so long, but when I came to this team it was really different again.”
“That’s why I don’t blame people for not knowing. All I can do is continue to focus on the things I can control. How I prepare and work with the team. How I show up every day and stay positive.”
Lauda an important building block in his career
Hamilton spoke about the “cultural differences” at Ferrari and that it was not the first time he and his colleagues had to adapt to each other, citing Niki Lauda as a previous example.
Lauda was chairman of the supervisory board at Mercedes and played a key role in persuading Hamilton to make a surprise move from McLaren in 2013, after which the two became close friends.
This was despite a previous assumption, as Hamilton reveals: “Niki was part of a world that couldn’t adapt to me being different” when he made his Formula 1 debut in 2007. This was because Hamilton attracted attention due to his working class background and mixed ethnic background.
The relationship between Hamilton and Lauda
However, he quickly dispelled any doubts, especially those of Lauda, who won his first Formula 1 title with Ferrari 50 years ago before celebrating further world championship successes in 1977 and 1984.
“I heard negative things, even though I had always admired him as a three-time world champion,” says Hamilton about Lauda, who died in 2019 at the age of 70.
“He’s one of the true icons of our sport. Then he called me and explained to me why I should join the team, and when we finally met we had a really good conversation. He said, ‘You’re just like me, you’re a racer through and through.'”
“It wasn’t until that meeting that those barriers came down and the stereotypical view he might have had was dispelled. After that, we traveled to the races together and he was constantly flying us to places.”