Lewis Hamilton has found an unexpected source of sympathy over his Ferrari struggles from the man whose seat he stole.
The Brit swapped Mercedes for the Scuderia in the offseason, leaving Carlos Sainz homeless before he rocked up lower down the grid at Williams.
Sainz pinched Hamilton’s seat and both are being beaten in their new teamsAFPAnd the pair have both struggled with their new squads, something not unusual at all in 2025 with the current era of cars having the slimmest operating window for peak performance.
That’s contributed to Hamilton being completely outperformed by teammate Charles Leclerc, who has been with Ferrari for six seasons.
So for Sainz, he was honest when asked about Hamilton’s tough start.
“I’m not surprised at all,” he told the media at the Miami Grand Prix.
“I think, for me, I expected it for myself and I expected it with him – because in this sport, there are no secrets.
“When you are up against two teammates like we are like Alex [Albon] and Charles, they know the team inside out.
“They are already performing at the maximum that that car can perform. So you can only do just a little bit better or the same as them.
“You cannot suddenly arrive and be two to three-tenths quicker, because it’s not possible. They are already at the limit of the car.
“So, when you jump to a new team and you’re expected, by yourself and by everyone around you to be at that level, you know it’s gonna take time.
“But, for some drivers, it might take longer or shorter. Lewis had an amazing weekend in China, then he seemed to be having a bit more trouble now, but it’s gonna take time for both.”
Hamilton’s China sprint win felt like a big moment but results haven’t followedGetty Sainz is experiencing the same problems alongside new teammate AlbonAFPSainz was referring to Hamilton’s sprint race win at round two in China which seemed like a breakthrough moment.
However, it turned out to be short-lived, as in the main feature race he was back behind Leclerc who has outperformed him in four qualifying sessions out of five and five races out of five.
The story is similar for Sainz, who is 4-1 down in races to Albon and 3-2 down in qualifying.
Yet as one of the brightest engineering minds on the grid, he’s seen as one of the benchmarks when it comes to car development, and has attempted to put a timeframe how long it takes to adjust to a 2025 car.
“It’s a tricky question because it depends,” the Spaniard said. “It depends on how natural the car comes to you, and how natural the relationship with engineers and that blend comes.
“I’ve always said that, to know a car well, you need at least half a year to a year to experience everything with that car.
Hamilton has been playing second fiddle at Ferrari this season“That doesn’t mean that you cannot perform during that year. This is a different topic.
“Nowadays, I feel like you need to drive [the cars] in a very specific way to be quick.
“I feel like the cars of 2021, you could come in with two or three different diving styles, and more or less get to a sim lap time, because the car would allow you to get to that limit in different ways.
“I feel the more I get to drive this generation of cars, the more I dig into the data, the more I realise you need to be closed loop to one driving style and, if you don’t drive in that way, you’re never gonna be quick.
“It’s just how the car interacts with you which allows you to drive in that specific way that you need to make sure you understand. I think these cars are particularly difficult.
“For me, this is just one of the 15 things that you have to relearn.”
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