Hamilton maintains faith in Ferrari post-disqualification

Dominika Jordan
Apr 3, 2025, 08:34 AM ET

Lewis Hamilton reaffirmed his complete confidence in Ferrari after the team's double disqualification at the Chinese Grand Prix. Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, and his teammate Charles Leclerc saw their cars fail the post-race technical checks in Shanghai, where they had secured sixth and fifth places, respectively.

Addressing speculation about his faith in the team, Hamilton dismissed any doubts outright. "I saw someone said something about whether I'm losing faith in the team, which is complete rubbish," he declared. "I have absolute 100% faith in this team," added the 40-year-old Briton, who transitioned from Mercedes to Ferrari in January.

Hamilton acknowledged the high expectations at the start of the season but emphasized a realistic outlook. "There was obviously a huge amount of hype at the beginning of the year. I don't know if everyone was expecting us to be winning from race one and clinching the championship in our first year. That wasn't my expectation. I know that I'm coming into a new culture, a new team, and it's going to take time."

Leclerc's disqualification was due to his car being 1kg below the required 800kg minimum weight, while Hamilton's car exhibited excessive skid wear.

Laurence Edmondson notes that Hamilton is progressively adapting to Ferrari, indicating tangible progress.

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur suggested that a leaking water bottle might have contributed to Leclerc's car being underweight, countering the initial assumption of excessive tire wear from a one-stop strategy. "The tires are only part of the explanation. We also lost a liter of water with Charles's drink bottle leaking. The loss of weight is always an addition of many small factors," Vasseur explained in an interview with L'Equipe.

Vasseur elaborated on Ferrari's efforts to match the performance of frontrunners McLaren, noting the fine margins they contend with. "The aim of the game in F1 is to push yourself to the limit of all parameters, everywhere. To get to the last gram of weight, to get to the last tenth of a millimeter of the skid, to get to the last millimeter of wing deformation. So it's certain that the more pressure you’re under, the more intense the fight, the closer you need to get to these limits and the more risks you take," he stated.

As Ferrari navigates these pressures, Hamilton's faith and determination remain undeterred, underscoring his commitment to the team's long-term success.