Lewis Hamilton details Ferrari 'trust' concern before key breakthrough

Lewis Hamilton has stated that he had to rebuild “trust” within Ferrari this year following a disappointing opening campaign with the team in 2025.

Hamilton struggled for form behind the wheel of Ferrari's challenger last year and was consistently outpaced by Charles Leclerc.

However, the seven-time champion has been in much stronger shape in the opening phase of the current campaign with four podiums to his name - including a race victory in Barcelona.

Hamilton has detailed that finally having elements of the car developed under his instruction has aided his step forward.

“One [factor] being the car that I really have helped develop,” Hamilton told media including RacingNews365. 

“There are items on the car, for example, front suspension, that I'd asked for last year.

“I had it made for the sim and tested it, we brought that this year. I finally got the brakes that I wanted, which was a big push.”

Hamilton also parted ways with his race engineer and started a fresh alliance with Carlo Santi while also working to ensure that his relationship with the Ferrari hierarchy was a harmonious one.

Having struggled for performance last year, Hamilton detailed that there was not a complete sense of trust between himself and the team - a situation that has changed this year following his upswing.

“[I made] engineer changes, readjusting some of my [personal] team and how they connect with the team, realigning myself with the higher powers within the organisation so that we're making sure that we're on the same track and we're allies rather than foes,” he said.

“That's just now in a much, much better place, so that's enabling us now to just move forward in synergy. 

“Each weekend was a really difficult weekend last year, so naturally, when you're having that, people tend to listen to you less -'why are we going to listen to you when you're in these results?' 

“So that's taken a long time to build that trust, and I think that trust is now there, and things that I ask for get done. 

“It's a two-way street, naturally, we're really pushing each other along, and the collaboration is finally there, and I think that's the most important thing.”