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Forbes
03-04-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Lewis Hamilton '100% Confident' Ferrari Will Turn Season Around
SUZUKA, JAPAN - APRIL 03: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Scuderia Ferrari is interviewed during ... More previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka Circuit on April 03, 2025 in Suzuka, Japan. (Photo by Mark Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images) Lewis Hamilton retains full confidence in Ferrari, despite a difficult start to the season. The Briton's first year with the Scuderia has been a mixed bag so far, as he finished 10th on debut in Australia and sixth in China, before being disqualified for a technical infringement. Hamilton won the sprint race after taking pole-position in Shanghai, but is already 35 points behind championship leaders Lando Norris. His teammate Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, finished eighth in Melbourne and was also disqualified in China after his car was found to be underweight. As a result, Ferrari has just 17 points after two races and it's already 61 points behind McLaren in the constructors' championship. But the seven-time world champion has backed the Italian team to put its struggles behind it. 'I saw someone said something about whether I'm losing faith in the team, which is complete rubbish,' Hamilton said in Suzuka, where the third weekend of the season begins on Friday. 'I have absolute 100% faith in this team.' Hamilton acknowledged his shock move to Ferrari increased the pressure on both him and the team, but insisted he did not expect to hit the ground running. 'There was obviously a huge amount of hype at the beginning of the year,' he continued. "I don't know if everyone was expecting us to be winning from race one and winning the championship in our first year. "That wasn't my expectation. I know that I'm coming into a new culture, a new team and it's going to take time." Hamilton joined Ferrari in January after 12 years with Mercedes delivered six world titles and one of the most dominant eras in the history of the sport. The Maranello-based team finished last season as the second-fastest on the grid behind McLaren, who won a first constructors' championship in 26 years by 14 points. SHANGHAI, CHINA - MARCH 21: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Scuderia Ferrari SF-25 ... More on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of China at Shanghai International Circuit on March 21, 2025 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by) Ferrari last won the constructors' title in 2008, while its last drivers' championship came the previous season as Kimi Raikkonen beat Hamilton by a point. And the Briton acknowledged getting acquainted with a new car was not a simple process, particular in terms of learning the finer technicalities of his SF-25. In his 18-year career in Formula 1, the seven-time world champion has only ever driven cars fitted with Mercedes engines - first at McLaren and then at Mercedes. While Ferrari uses the same 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrids engines as their competitors, the controls that manage the complicated recovery systems are slightly different for each team. "I was actually quite happy with how I've adapted in just those two races," he said. "I've definitely got a lot of work to do to make sure that it's better moving forward. 'It's just understanding the technical side of this thing, understanding all the tools that I have. It likes to be driven differently.' Hamilton's settling in process has also been complicated by a series of external factors. The 40-year-old was forced to miss a test in Abu Dhabi at the end of last year when drivers tried the new tyre designs in use this year. He then carried out private tests at Fiorano - Ferrari's private track in January - when he drove the SF-23, before driving this year's SF-25 in official pre-season testing in Bahrain in February. TOPSHOT - Ferrari's British driver Lewis Hamilton celebrates winning the sprint race of the Formula ... More One Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai on March 22, 2025. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP) (Photo by GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images) The latter testing session, however, was cut short due to technical issues. 'Every other driver here [in Japan] got to do Abu Dhabi tests and try the 2025 tyre,' he continued. "I didn't. When we went into the race run in Bahrain, the car broke down, so I didn't actually get to do a long run on any of the tyres. "So, the sprint race [in China] was the first time I'd actually done a 20-lap stint on the tyre. "And then, in the race, it was the first time I'd ever tried the C2 [compound]. So, I was just learning that through the race. "You don't just put the tyre on and know what it's going to do. I definitely feel like I was starting to feel the onward effect of not being able to do the test at the end of the year."
Forbes
23-03-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
F1 Skid Block Explained: Why Was Lewis Hamilton Disqualified From 2025 Chinese GP?
SHANGHAI, CHINA - MARCH 23: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Scuderia Ferrari SF-25 ... More arrives on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix of China at Shanghai International Circuit on March 23, 2025 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Mark Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images) What began as a dream weekend for Lewis Hamilton at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix turned into a nightmare following his disqualification from the race. After clinching his first win with Ferrari in Saturday's sprint, having secured a surprising pole position the day before, the Brit's fortunes plummeted during the main event on Sunday. The trouble started on the opening lap when Hamilton made contact with his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, damaging the Monegasque's front wing. The seven-time champion then struggled with pace, opting for a two-stop strategy in hopes that fresh tires would give him the pace he needed. It didn't pay off however, and he finished the race in sixth place just behind Leclerc. The situation then worsened when post-race checks found that the plank on Hamilton's Ferrari was below the minimum thickness required by FIA regulations. The rearmost skid thickness measured 8.6mm at two points and 8.5mm at another — below the minimum 9mm thickness, which means an automatic disqualification. A statement released by the FIA explained, 'The plank assembly of Car 44 was measured and found to be 8.6mm (LHS), 8.6mm (car centerline) and 8.5mm (RHS). This is below the minimum thickness of 9mm specified under Article 3.5.9 of the Technical Regulations. 'During the hearing the team representative confirmed that the measurement is correct and that all required procedures were performed correctly. The team also acknowledged that there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a genuine error by the team. 'The Stewards determine that Article 3.5.9 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations has been breached and therefore the standard penalty of a disqualification needs to be applied for such an infringement.' The disqualification not only wiped out the eight championship points Hamilton earned for finishing in sixth place but was also another slap in the face for the team as Leclerc faced the same fate after post-race checks found his car to be under the minimum required weight, as did Pierre Gasly's Alpine. This wasn't the first time Hamilton faced a disqualification for excessive plank wear however as he encountered a similar situation at the 2023 United States Grand Prix while racing for Mercedes, for which Leclerc was also disqualified for the same issue. Planks, usually made of permaglass, are plates installed beneath every F1 car from front to back. Introduced in 1994 following the tragic deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, they act as a safety feature to maintain a minimum ride height and prevent cars from riding too low. They also protect the car's floor when it goes over kerbs or rough surfaces at high speeds. As for the skid blocks, these are titanium plates installed in different parts of the plank to help maintain the required height. They also cause the car to spark when it hits the ground. The damaged underfloor 'plank' with embedded circular titanium studs of a McLaren MP4-29 Formula One ... More racing car driven by either British McLaren Formula One racing team racing driver Jenson Button or his Mexican teammate Sergio 'Checo' Perez with usage information written in black ink and showing track surface scuff damage in the team's pit lane, pit garage during practice for the 2014 Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull Ring, Austria, on the 20th June 2014. (Photo by) After each race, officials select cars for checks to ensure compliance with FIA's technical regulations. They take measurements in the 50-mm-diameter holes drilled into the plank and titanium skid blocks. According to the regulations, the thickness of the plank assembly should be 10mm plus or minus 0.2mm when new. The plank can wear down during the race but it cannot be less than 9mm thick when measured at the designated holes. If the plank or skid's thickness falls below 9mm, the car is in violation of the technical regulations and will be disqualified. Article 3.5.9 of the 2025 technical regulations states, 'The thickness of the plank assembly measured normal to the lower surface must be 10mm ± 0.2mm and must be uniform when new. A minimum thickness of 9mm will be accepted due to wear, and conformity to this provision will be checked at the peripheries of the designated holes. 'The plank assembly must have four precisely placed holes the positions of which are given by RV-PLANK. To establish the conformity of the plank assembly after use, its thickness will only be measured at these holes, regardless of whether plank or skid material is present.'
