Lewis Hamilton secured one of his best results of the 2025 Formula 1 season with a fourth-place finish at the Austrian Grand Prix, but the Ferrari driver remained grounded in his assessment of both the result and the car’s performance.
The seven-time world champion crossed the line less than 10 seconds behind his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc and 29 seconds adrift of race winner Lando Norris. Despite these signs of improvement, Hamilton admits there are still areas for improvement.
“I’m still losing massive ground. To lose eight seconds, nine seconds to Charles is just not good enough. So that’s what I’ve got to work on.”
A strong start for Hamilton
The beginning of the Austrian Grand Prix was positive signs for Hamilton. The Brit was locked in an intense battle with his former teammate George Russell in the first few laps. Hamilton managed to keep Russell behind despite the early race chaos.
“I did get a great start, I had a great battle with George from Turn 1 all the way to Turn 6. I managed to hold on to it on the outside, which was pretty awesome.”
Despite a good start, Hamilton’s race quickly unravelled as he continued to battle continuous issues with his Ferrari.
“After that, the car didn’t feel too bad, I was able to hold on for a second, but then I was really struggling and we had brake issues, so having to manage these brakes early on, which was always indefinite for some time. That’s something I’m pushing to get fixed because that’s not great.”
Alongside the brake issues, Hamilton has been struggling with car balance in the car since the beginning of the season.
“And then just with balance, I was really struggling just with the balance.”
Ferrari upgrades show promise
Ferrari introduced a small floor upgrade in Spielberg. An upgrade that they deemed minor for their season had a more significant impact than many expected.
“I think we’ve moved forwards. I think the upgrade was quite small so we didn’t really know. They didn’t even mention it at the time because it was that small. But I think perhaps there was a bigger result from putting the floor on. And so that’s a real positive.”
Hamilton believed that this minor floor upgrade was a positive move for the team, as they were McLaren’s closest competitor all weekend.
“We’ve been the second fastest this weekend, getting third and fourth is a real positive. So there are lots of good things to take from the weekend.”
Despite this positive move from Ferrari, Hamilton believes the team are still struggling with their race pace. Naming it as a key weakness in their battle to catch McLaren.
“Hopefully with our next upgrade, hopefully that works the way we hope it works. But we’re not a minute down this weekend, which is great.”
Learning Leclerc’s ways
Hamilton confirmed his car setup is now more closely aligned with Charles Leclerc’s. But the veteran driver admitted that adapting to his teammate’s driving style isn’t straightforward.
“The setup is a little closer to Charles. He drives a massively oversteering car. Somehow slides the rears and doesn’t have degradation. When I slide the rears, I get massive degradation.”
This isn’t a new concept for Ferrari, as Leclerc’s previous teammate, Carlos Sainz, also had trouble getting accustomed to the car. Hamilton revealed that it took Sainz a few years to understand his Ferrari, something the Brit wants to avoid.
“Supposedly, it took Carlos a couple of years to get used to. I don’t want to do that. I think I’m improving. As I said, I’m a lot closer in qualifying. Didn’t have the race pace though.”
Looking ahead to Silverstone
The eventful start to his time at Ferrari has not made Hamilton any less excited for his home race this weekend. Whilst the nine-time British Grand Prix winner isn’t confident he could deliver a trademark performance at Silverstone, he’s still looking forward to a home race. His first home race as a Ferrari driver.
“I still love being at Ferrari, going and seeing the British flag. There will be some red caps there.”
