Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari Gamble Faces Uphill Battle in Austria
Let’s talk about Lewis Hamilton and the Austrian Grand Prix—because wow, there’s a lot going on here, and it’s not quite the fairytale some were hoping for. Hamilton’s transition to Ferrari in 2025 was always going to be one of the biggest stories in Formula 1 this season. But right now, in Austria, it’s less about championships and more about damage control.
So here’s the situation. Ferrari came into the European leg of the season, especially this Austrian GP, with a serious upgrade package. New floor design, reworked diffuser, clever changes to the car’s underfloor airflow—on paper, it all sounded promising. The goal? To close the gap to the front runners like McLaren and Red Bull, and finally give Hamilton and Leclerc a car that can fight at the sharp end. But when the rubber hit the road in practice, the results told a very different story.
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Let’s be real—Hamilton hasn’t looked comfortable at all. In FP1, he finished ninth, and things didn’t improve much in FP2. He could only manage tenth, nearly a full second off Lando Norris, who topped the session. That’s a massive gap on a short track like the Red Bull Ring. It’s not just about the numbers either. You could hear the frustration in his radio messages. At one point, he simply said, “I’ve just got no pace, mate.” That kind of uncertainty from a seven-time world champion is pretty telling.
The telemetry makes the picture clearer. Leclerc, too, lost serious time in key corners—Turn 1 and especially Turn 4. The new upgrades haven’t solved the underlying problem: Ferrari still struggles to generate enough downforce consistently. It’s a balance issue, and more importantly, a ride height issue. If the car runs too low, the floor scrapes and destabilizes the car. Too high, and they lose that all-important grip. Ferrari tried to find the middle ground with clever aerodynamic tweaks, but as of FP3, the results haven’t matched the theory.
And here’s the twist. While qualifying pace is clearly lacking, the race pace doesn’t look nearly as bad. Long-run simulations suggest Ferrari could actually be competitive come Sunday. On medium tyres, Leclerc’s pace was surprisingly close to Norris—just a tenth off per lap. And Hamilton, though limited in his stint, was in the mix too. That opens up a small window of opportunity, but qualifying will be the make-or-break moment.
It’s still early to declare this Ferrari update a failure. New packages often need time to dial in, especially with setups this complex. But the pressure is definitely building. If the upgrades don’t deliver soon, Ferrari might have to make the difficult decision to pivot resources to the 2026 car, especially with new regulations on the horizon.
For Hamilton, this weekend isn’t just another race—it’s a test of patience and persistence. He knew the move to Ferrari wouldn’t be easy. But even the greatest champions can’t outdrive physics. The SF-25 still has a long way to go, and Austria might be the weekend that forces some serious conversations inside Maranello.
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