Lewis Hamilton believes Ferrari keep repeating one ‘counterintuitive’ decision Mercedes never made

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Lewis Hamilton may be a seven-time Formula 1 world champion, but joining a new team is equally challenging, no matter how much experience a driver possesses.

Eight Formula 1 teams on the grid currently have different driver line-ups compared to the end of last season.

Only McLaren and Aston Martin stuck with both of their drivers, while Haas and Sauber made wholesale changes to their line-up.

Out of the six remaining teams, Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar is the only driver who has more points after 10 Grand Prix than his teammate Liam Lawson, despite his prior experience with the outfit.

At Ferrari, although Charles Leclerc can’t match Lewis Hamilton’s remarkable achievements across his career, he’s currently outscoring the 40-year-old by 25 points.

Team principal Fred Vasseur said before the start of the season that 99% of this car would be different from the machine that came within 14 points of winning the constructors’ championship.

Unfortunately, that’s created a situation where Ferrari are well off the pace of McLaren, and Red Bull and Mercedes have recorded their first Grand Prix victories before the Scuderia.

Ferrari are working on a new rear suspension to negate their ride height issues, but it might be a case of too little, too late.

Valtteri Bottas has explained why he thinks Hamilton might be struggling this season, but in reality, the adaptation period from his time at Mercedes may be playing a crucial role.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family

Ferrari’s set-up decisions for Lewis Hamilton ‘counterintuitive’ compared to Mercedes

A report from The Times has shared more details about Hamilton’s tricky start to 2025.

There are times when Hamilton looks like more than a match for Leclerc during qualifying and races.

Hamilton outperformed the Monegasque over one lap at the Canadian Grand Prix, but a brake issue and hitting a groundhog ruined his chances in the race itself.

It’s believed that Hamilton has ‘found the way Ferrari set up his car to be counterintuitive’ this season, with his performance between practice sessions, qualifying, and the race fluctuating wildly across a weekend.

This is ‘very different’ to how he would work with his team at Mercedes, who had his preferences down to a tee after 12 seasons working together.

Hamilton’s dialogue with Ferrari is improving constantly as both parties get to know each other better, but there are clearly still gaps in each other’s knowledge.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Lewis Hamilton looking for ‘constructive’ way to make changes at Ferrari

Hamilton has at times this season put the blame on himself rather than the team, especially when he feels he’s underperformed.

However, with Leclerc also failing to reach the same levels that he did last season, it’s clear that Ferrari have failed to build on their brilliant end to the previous campaign.

Speaking to the press after the most recent race in Montreal, Hamilton explained: “There’s a certain way they like to work and it’s [me saying], ‘Hold on a second — that doesn’t actually make sense.’”

“Like, this is what I’ve done for the last 17, 18 years, and it’s worked in a lot of them.

“So, getting those things to consistently work with the team and making sure you’re working in a constructive way to make changes.”

Ferrari need a clear game plan and stability to effectively move forward ahead of Formula 1’s changing regulations being introduced next year.

Rumours surrounding team principal Fred Vasseur’s future won’t help, particularly given how important his relationship with Hamilton was in attracting him to Ferrari.