Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff has “little question” that Lewis Hamilton will rediscover his outdated “magic” at Ferrari.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton has endured a tough begin to life at Ferrari since finishing his blockbuster swap from Mercedes.
Except for taking a formidable pole place and victory within the China dash race, it has been a disappointing marketing campaign to this point for Hamilton.
The 40-year-old Briton has been convincingly outperformed by teammate Charles Leclerc and is just seventh within the drivers’ championship, 68 factors down on McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
Hamilton has struggled to become familiar with Ferrari’s 2025 challenger and has not managed to complete increased than fifth in a grand prix to this point this season.
However Hamilton’s former boss Wolff has backed Hamilton to get again to his greatest as soon as he has settled at Ferrari.
“I believe we noticed that magic within the Dash Race – was it Shanghai? He was fully dominating that race,” Wolff mentioned on Friday on the Miami Grand Prix.
“It’s not like you’ve the magic in a single race after which all of the sudden you lose the magic within the subsequent one. I very a lot consider that it’s nonetheless there.
“If he aligns all his efficiency contributors and feels he’s in the suitable area and the automobile is to his liking, he will likely be stellar. I’ve little question. However I’m additionally not stunned it has these highway bumps. He was with us 12 years – the best way of working.
“He’s been put in a Ferrari, the place his teammate has been a very long time. And his team-mate clearly is without doubt one of the excellent ones. So from the skin and talking to him, it’s a trajectory any new driver must undergo in a high group.
Hamilton was unable to compete for pole place in dash qualifying in Miami and ended up seventh-fastest.
He was as soon as once more outpaced by Leclerc, who was sixth and greater than three tenths of a second off Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli who beat the McLaren pair to a shock pole.
After the session, Hamilton conceded Ferrari are missing tempo in comparison with their rivals in Miami.
“It was a greater session. P1 was most likely a bit higher, the automobile was a bit higher, the automobile was a bit nicer to drive. We’re simply missing velocity, however we simply maintain working from there,” he mentioned.
Requested if he could make progress within the dash, Hamilton replied: “Probably not. I believe all of the automobiles forward are sooner. I do not know what else to say.”
