Hamilton reflects on Ferrari’s challenges after China Sprint victory

Dominika Jordan
Mar 25, 2025, 11:17 AM ET

Lewis Hamilton admits Ferrari felt ‘terrible’ after setup changes at Chinese GP, highlighting team challenges.

Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool

Lewis Hamilton has candidly admitted that his Ferrari felt "terrible" following post-sprint win setup changes at the Chinese Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion has acknowledged that the team faces significant challenges in catching up to its competitors.

Hamilton made a strong statement at the Shanghai circuit, initially impressing with a sprint qualifying pole and clinching an impressive win during the sprint race. However, this early momentum did not carry over to the Grand Prix, where he managed to qualify fifth and eventually finished sixth. Both Hamilton and his teammate Charles Leclerc were later disqualified for technical infringements, further marring Ferrari's weekend.

Despite media activities concluding well before the disqualifications were announced, Hamilton provided insights into his difficulties following the sprint race:

"Balance-wise, from the sprint race we made these changes and the car was terrible after that," Hamilton explained. "So I really struggled from then on. I think it's good learnings and hopefully won't do that again as I continue to learn this car."

While Hamilton's sprint performance earned crucial points, Ferrari's struggles on Sundays have become increasingly apparent. After just two races, there is already a noticeable gap opening up between F1's most successful constructor and its leading rivals.

"The window is quite narrow, but there is some performance there, like what we had in the sprint," Hamilton added. "We're always trying to move forwards, it didn't end up being the greatest, but it is what it is. We can see where we are performance-wise, we clearly have to improve our pace as the guys ahead are pretty quick. We have some work to do to close the gap."

McLaren currently leads the constructors' championship with back-to-back victories, while Lando Norris sits atop the drivers' standings. Formula 1 now heads to Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix, scheduled for April 4-6, where Hamilton and Ferrari will aim to rebound and bridge the performance gap to their competitors.