Toto Wolff points to Lewis Hamilton 'pattern' in Ferrari struggles

Mercedes team principal has suggested it is a “pattern” for Lewis Hamilton to struggle early in a season before gaining more confidence later on.

Hamilton is partaking in his first campaign with Ferrari following his switch from the Mercedes F1 team.

The Briton has struggled to get up to speed with the Italian outfit and is still awaiting his first trip to the podium this year.

Hamilton also had a difficult run of form during his final seasons with Mercedes, with a notable dip occurring at the start of the current regulation cycle in 2022.

Wolff stated there was always going to be a grace period for Hamilton following his arrival at a new squad.

“You don’t unlearn driving that quickly,” Wolff told Bloomberg Hot Pursuit when discussing his struggles. 

“In 2021, he was great. Then the regulations changed, and it got a little more difficult, but he was still performing at a very high level.

“Just by changing teams, suddenly you don’t lose your skills.

“Everybody needs a period of adaptation. Different car, different DNA in how the vehicle drives and a new engineering team that you need to start working together.

“Then you have to be involved in the continuous development of the car so it suits your driving style.

“It’s an all-Italian team, and he’s a British guy parachuted in there. And that takes time.

“Also, we’ve seen a bit of a pattern that Lewis, at the beginning of the season, needs to find his mojo and the second half of the season has always been very strong.

“So, don’t ever write Lewis Hamilton off.”

Toto Wolff provides update on Lewis Hamilton relationship

Hamilton won six of his seven F1 titles with the Mercedes squad, marking the most successful team-driver pairing in the sport's history.

Despite his exit to a rival team, Wolff asserted he still maintains a strong relationship with the Briton.

"You always have to miss a person like Lewis Hamilton," Wolff stated.

“And as you say, we're still close friends. We've given our word to each other that we will stay close friends.

"We're fighting hard on track, with the gloves off, because we need to fight for our respective teams - and that’s the kind of rule we have. 

“But off track, we spend time with each other, we travel together, and I don't want to miss the friend that I've had for so many years.

"It’s the longest driver-team relationship in Formula 1 - 12 years. You rarely see that in any other sport. 

“And when it comes to developing the car, obviously he has a lot of experience. He’s seen it all, and replacing someone like Lewis Hamilton is always going to be difficult.”