Lewis Hamilton has ‘never felt comfortable’ in one area of the Ferrari F1 factory

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Lewis Hamilton produced the worst season of his F1 career to date in 2025, but there were mitigating circumstances.

Hamilton had to adapt to Ferrari after spending 12 seasons at Mercedes, while teammate Charles Leclerc, who dominated the head-to-head, has raced in red since 2019.

That adaptation process may have been easier had the car been a winner. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that he produced his best performance of the season in the China Sprint, the moment Ferrari were most competitive.

For the most part, the SF-25, which had to be raised after a later disqualification in Shanghai, was slow and unpredictable. But Hamilton is hoping that this year’s car carries the hallmarks of his influence.

Lewis Hamilton ‘hates’ using the Ferrari F1 simulator

Before many races last year, Hamilton made the point that it was his first time driving the Ferrari on that particular track.

In theory, this makes the simulator at Maranello all the more important. He could get a feel for the handling characteristics of the Ferrari at each venue, even though it would never be 100% accurate.

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However, F1 pundit Ralf Schumacher claims that Hamilton ‘hardly ever’ uses the Ferrari simulator, which partly explains the gap to the more enthusiastic Leclerc.

ESPN report that Hamilton has ‘never felt comfortable’ using the facility at Ferrari’s Maranello factory. In fact, he ‘hates’ that part of the job.

Ferrari engineers ‘ignored’ Lewis Hamilton in 2025

Hamilton ‘struggled with the brakes’ throughout 2025 as he switched from Carbon Industrie pads at Mercedes to Brembo at Ferrari. Clearly, he couldn’t acclimatise to this change using the virtual tools.

ESPN add that retirement questions will ‘dominate every press conference’ unless the 41-year-old looks more at home – inside and outside the car – this year. He must build a stronger relationship with his engineering team, who largely ‘ignored’ his suggestions in 2025.

Early reports claim that new technical director Loic Serra has changed Ferrari’s suspension after the drivers asked for a more stable car, a move that will encourage Hamilton.

Ferrari plan to unveil their car on 23 January before completing a ‘shakedown’ at the Fiorano circuit.