From the idyllic early days to the coldness of reality, Lewis Hamilton experienced his first season playing for the Team Ferrari's performance has been a mixed bag, to say the least. Now that this observation, shared by all, has been made, the reasons for this disappointment deserve to be analyzed. Besides the fact that the seven-time world champion's adaptation took longer than his natural talent suggested, the halt in development of the SF-25, which was sorely lacking in balance, did nothing to help his integration.

“I participated in this decision. I insisted on halting development, particularly because we weren’t competing in the championship,” Lewis Hamilton insisted upon his arrival in Abu DhabiI was 100% convinced of this decision and I continue to support it. For me, given my experience and my vision of the team, I don't think it has had a psychological impact on them.

Detailing this decision which has generated much commentary and opinion, the Briton nevertheless admits that the current situation had not been anticipated. “We didn’t know where we were going to end up. We could imagine it, but it’s worse than I thought.” he admitted"We can't afford to fall behind the others in developing the 2026 car. The learning curve is too steep."

Having arrived at Ferrari full of ambition, Lewis Hamilton now takes a much more down-to-earth approach to analyzing the beginning of this adventure. "I was surprised by my own resilience. If I can get through a season like this, there's nothing I can't handle now." Using one of the early seasons of his career as an example, Lewis Hamilton does not hesitate to point out that his first steps in red were not the only ones to have turned into disappointment.

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Hamilton learns lessons from his disillusionment

“In 2009, at McLarenI remember being told from day one that the cars would lose 50% of their downforce. he recountedand that they had therefore designed a car to compensate for this loss. I was incredulous and asked if this was normal, but everyone remained calm. Then we went out on track and… we had no downforce and were very far from the podium. This experience was very useful to me.”

Also quick to point out his lack of comfort with ground-effect era cars, Lewis Hamilton is putting his winter under the sign of work, having already been constantly looking into the matter this year. "This is probably the worst generation of cars. I won't miss anything. I hope the next one won't be worse." After the Grand Prix, there will be testing, then I'll return to the factory to work on the simulator. I won't have time to recover. I'll start training before Christmas. It will be the shortest winter break in history.

Finally announcing some changes in his garage, the seven-time world champion appears determined to take matters into his own hands in an environment still somewhat unfamiliar to his working methods. “I need to define the approach to take when I discuss with the people involved in order to make the necessary changes,” he finally revealedI will also be reflecting on my team: should we reposition some members to optimize their work? How are we utilizing the human resources we have? All these elements fall within my personal sphere. We must optimize teamwork; we cannot continue as we have this year.