Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton could not conceal his disappointment regarding his performance in Saudi Arabia, where he failed to improve upon his race start position.
Hamilton displayed discomfort in the car throughout most of the race, struggling with rear control and generally not keeping pace with his accomplished teammate, Charles Leclerc.
Leclerc probably drove a car that could achieve at best a P4 in ideal circumstances, but he capitalized on Lando Norris's rough start to earn Ferrari their first podium of the season.
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Charles successfully passed George Russell, who was driving a W16 that appeared much faster than the Ferrari SF-25.
"Nothing above good to take from today, except for Charles finishing on the podium, which was great for the team," Lewis said to reporters after the race.
Fighting for every point pic.twitter.com/t0hYYwOmQt
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 20, 2025
"It was horrible. First stint, massive understeer, car not turning, and then a massive deg. And then the second stint, slightly better balance, but still just no pace, so yeah, it's pretty bad."
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When pressed for specifics on his struggles, Hamilton could not pinpoint the cause or exact effects that are leading to his disappointing performances.
"Struggling to feel the car beneath me, but yeah, there's no particular thing," he said.
"There's nothing to say, hey, this is the issue."
Ferrari finds itself in the midst of a tripleheader, with consecutive races in Japan, Bahrain, and Jeddah.
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The team, along with the rest of the grid, is set for a week's break and some much-needed downtime for most. Hamilton, however, does not believe that the break will improve anything.
More points in the bag Continuing to push pic.twitter.com/4UKXqgGeb5
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 20, 2025
"Yeah, I mean, I don't think it's going to make a difference," he said.
"I think I'll struggle also in Miami. I don't know how much longer I'll struggle for, but it's definitely painful."
Hamilton said he hopes some adjustments will be made to the SF-25, though the overall car is not expected to change much for a while.
"I'll have to look and see whether that set-up is the way the car likes to be set," Hamilton said.
"Him and his side are definitely obviously doing a better job than us."
"I'm thinking right now, it could be under 7 weeks, maybe a little more."
"At the moment, there's no fix, so this is how it's going to be for the rest of the year."
"It's going to be painful."
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