Lewis Hamilton identifies key to finding form at Ferrari: ‘I will do a better job’

Hamilton finished fifth in the Bahrain Grand Prix - his best Sunday race result for his new team

Lewis Hamilton insists he is “adjusting” to changing his driving style as he looks to find his feet at Ferrari after a mixed Bahrain Grand Prix weekend.

The seven-time world champion, who has struggled in the opening month of his Ferrari career, finished fifth in the race on Sunday – his best finish so far in 2025 other than his sprint win in China.

It was an improved display for Hamilton, who started ninth, with Ferrari showing promise with a different strategy to frontrunners McLaren and Mercedes. However, they were still short of pace compared to race winner Oscar Piastri.

Yet Hamilton still only has 25 points to his name and is already 52 points behind championship leader Lando Norris, heading into race five in Saudi Arabia next week.

“I think what’s clear, as humans, we get really stuck in our ways,” Hamilton said, when asked about adapting to his new team and car.

“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.

“I was a long way away from Charles [Leclerc] last weekend and this weekend… I’ve got to do a better job, I know I can and I will.

“I’ve got to make it easier for myself, I’m doing it the hard way at the moment. Will try next week to start in a better place, I think I’ve figured out how the car likes to drive.

“If I qualify better I can have a much better weekend.”

Lewis Hamilton finished fifth in the Bahrain Grand Prix (Getty Images)

Leclerc, however, was more downbeat as he missed out on a podium late on in the 57-lap race.

“We are just not fast enough, that’s the summary,” he said.

“We don’t have that pace in the car, Mercedes were a bit better in degradation. The pace was just not there, it’s very disappointing when you do everything quite well but it’s P4.

“There is no regrets, we need to find some pace.”

F1 next heads to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia for round five of the 2025 season and the final race in the Asian triple-header.