The Ferrari traits behind Lewis Hamilton's ongoing F1 struggles

Lewis Hamilton's struggles at Ferrari in 2025 have been well-documented following his bombshell move from Mercedes.

After the biggest driver transfer in F1 history, Hamilton is yet to record a grand prix podium for Ferrari in 12 races, and has not been able to get on top of his new surroundings, after 12 seasons at Mercedes.

The one bright spot was victory from pole in the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race and another third in the Miami sprint, but Hamilton has not been able to match team-mate Charles Leclerc.

There have been signs that Hamilton is slowly making progress after moving towards Leclerc's set-up in recent races, coinciding with him out-qualifying the Monegasque in three out of the last four races, and has been in the top six in all of the last six grands prix.

But the adjustment period from Mercedes has been greater than anyone expected, as Sky Sports Italy F1 expert Matteo Bobbi has detailed just where things are going wrong for Hamilton with the traits of the SF-25.

"Hamilton was clearly used to driving a certain kind of car, with specific characteristics," Bobbi exclusively told RacingNews365. 

"When he joined Ferrari at the beginning of the season, people said that Leclerc and Hamilton like the same characteristics, but that is not true, because they drive very differently. 

"Leclerc needs a strong front end; he can drive with a light rear, as long as the front is strong. If the car does not have that characteristic, he does not perform at all.

"Hamilton requires exactly the opposite, of course, he too needs a strong front end, because everyone has that, but he needs a strong rear end, especially on corner entry. 

"Leclerc brakes very late, but Hamilton does so even later, he also uses more braking force at force, which means he needs a very strong rear end, otherwise he loses the rear on turn in.

"So they both need very different characteristics of the car, and this year's Ferrari seems especially very strong at the front, but not at all at the rear, so that's why Hamilton is struggling, especially during qualifying."

Renowned as a late braker, Hamilton was able to maximise this at Mercedes through its use of Carbon Industrie brake pads and discs. However, at Ferrari, the team uses Brembo instead of CI, another factor in Hamilton's struggles.

 "But that's point one, because the second point is the brakes," Bobbi continued. "I'm not saying Carbon Industrie is better or worse than Brembo, but the two have clear differences.

"Leclerc is used to Brembo and can extract the maximum from it, but Hamilton still has to adapt to the characteristics of Brembo. We're talking mainly about the 'bite' of the brakes."

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Yet another problem for Ferrari to overcome

One complaint from both drivers across the season has been a lack of confidence in the car in qualifying, with the SF-25 proving a faster race car than over a single lap. 

The reason for this, Bobbi believes can be traced back to 2024 and a demand from Leclerc and then team-mate Carlos Sainz.

"At Silverstone, Leclerc spoke to journalists about a problem that both he and Hamilton are suffering from, which comes from the power steering," he added.

"Last year, Leclerc, along with Carlos Sainz, also had problems because one wanted more help from the power steering than the other, so the engineering team had to design the power steering. They created a design that is probably too aggressive, and it is too much for the drivers.

"When the driver is on the limit in a fast corner, especially where they reach four or five G-forces, they don't feel the car anymore because the power steering is providing too much assistance. 

"That really only happens when they drive at the limit during qualifying.

"When they slow down during the race, they can adjust to the power steering. The brain is not fully focused on the limit, and then they have room to adjust their steering to the power steering. 

"But that's very difficult to fix. Once you've designed the power steering, it's difficult to adjust it, so they have to keep this system for now, and that's another thing Hamilton doesn't like at all. 

"During testing in Bahrain, he was clear after a few laps that he was not happy with it. He literally said, 'What the hell is that power steering?', and since then it has been a big problem for Ferrari."