Lewis Hamilton reveals constant Ferrari engineers 'battle' in upgrade plea

Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he is "constantly battling the engineers" at Ferrari to try different things in an attempt to make progress without upgrades. 

The seven-time world champion is desperate for the Maranello-based outfit to introduce an upgrades package, something team principal Fred Vasseur hinted was coming for the Austrian Grand Prix. 

Hamilton has struggled to adjust to the Scuderia and is yet to secure a podium in red, whilst Charles Leclerc has made three rostrum appearances this year. 

He finds himself sixth in the drivers' standings and is 25 points behind Leclerc, who has largely been the stronger Ferrari driver in 2025. 

What has been particularly challenging for the 40-year-old has been getting used to how Ferrari work, compared to Mercedes who he spent 12 seasons racing with. 

It has led to some breakdown in communication, notably over the radio; however, progress is steadily being made between Hamilton and the team.

"Just incremental steps, we've not had any upgrades or anything like that," Hamilton told select media, including RacingNews365. "So it's the same car for quite some time now. 

"And so with the same package each weekend, I'm just challenging the guys. I'm constantly battling the engineers, asking questions, because they set things up and are like, 'This is how we always do it', And I'm like, 'Well, what about this?' 

"And so we work on trying things, and bit by bit, we are making progress. We've improved in our qualifying from Monaco, which was positive. 

"But, ultimately, we need upgrades. We need an upgrade to be able to fight the guys up front."