Lewis Hamilton still ‘mentally’ has one problem with Ferrari’s 2025 F1 car that he cannot get over

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Lewis Hamilton is running out of time to make significant changes at Ferrari, now that he’s halfway through his first season with them without much progress.

The seven-time champion harboured hopes of fighting for another drivers’ championship with the Scuderia, but the outlook appears bleak so far.

Currently on the longest podium drought of his career, Hamilton just cannot find a way to challenge at the top. McLaren are quick, but even third place has been a stretch too far, while teammate Charles Leclerc has reached the podium four times in six races.

The signs are concerning for Ferrari, but they cannot give up yet. Hamilton didn’t look like himself at the Belgian Grand Prix after suffering a bit of a miserable weekend.

However, after a development with his brakes, Hamilton can unleash a superpower at Ferrari, which means that he might be about to make some big gains. His confidence, in particular, could increase.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton told he should be ‘livid’ after hearing what Fred Vasseur said at the Belgian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton is still ‘mentally’ struggling to connect with Ferrari’s 2025 F1 car

Hamilton did something ‘not normal’ by managing to finish seventh from the pitlane in wet conditions at Spa. Fans were able to watch on in astonishment as he timed the crossover from wet to dry tyres perfectly, and gained multiple positions.

A new set of Brembo brake pads aimed at giving him more feeling may have helped him too, offering the opportunity to brake later than his rivals.

Despite the progress, Formula 1 journalist Albert Fabrega believes that the 40-year-old is still ‘mentally’ struggling to connect with a car which has had multiple issues in 2025.

“It looks a little bit more tricky for Lewis to adapt to the changes. That momentum is not arriving for him. I think that mentally, he’s a little bit, not on a low point, but, I haven’t seen [him in form] yet,” he told the F1 Nation podcast.

“Maybe in Silverstone a little bit, that Lewis that is connected to the car is, [that] he is hungry and he’s aiming to fight for important things yet.”

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton ‘thwarted’ by unseen issue at the Belgian Grand Prix that has ‘plagued’ Ferrari this season

Lewis Hamilton had too much respect to make sweeping Ferrari changes earlier

Hamilton is dealing with an ‘alien’ problem at Ferrari, according to Damon Hill, and is using 2025 as a year to get used to his new surroundings.

Fabrega also believes that the Briton has been waiting to make big changes to the team out of respect, but will now take action.

“If in Silverstone the things didn’t go right, I [thought] we will see Lewis starting to [make] changes within the team, or changing something to try to change the situation,” he said.

“I think that that’s the point he highlighted on the calendar, where ‘OK, the time for me to adapt to the team, to understand the team, to understand the car, to understand what Ferrari means in Formula, it arrives to the end.

“It reached the point where now, I will put on the table, what I think that needs to change to make this team winners.’ I think that Lewis respects a lot [about] Ferrari and didn’t bring all those things on the table since the first day they land in Maranello.”