Ferrari and Red Bull have made honest public assessments of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, respectively, as the fallout from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix continues. Both drivers endured frustrating weekends, with Verstappen losing pole position to finish second behind Oscar Piastri and Hamilton slipping to seventh, 39 seconds off the race winner.
Ahead of the Miami Grand Prix next weekend, both teams have come out in support of their headline stars as McLaren lead the way in their Constructors’ Championship defence. Meanwhile, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella credited Hamilton’s defensive driving as one of the reasons Lando Norris missed out on a podium spot in Saudi Arabia. The Brit’s Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc rounded off the top three after Hamilton held up Norris’ climb from P10 to P4.Lewis Hamilton told his main issue at Ferrari
Former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde believes that Lewis Hamilton’s biggest issue at Ferrari at the moment is ‘confidence’.
The Brit has started slowly since joining the team from Mercedes, and Van der Garde believes that he must adapt quickly to ensure that he does not regret the switch.
Asked what is wrong with Hamilton at the moment, he told racingnews365.com: “Confidence. That’s the main thing. When he came into Formula 1, he was a cannon, young and eager. He came in next to Fernando Alonso and later he knew with Nico Rosberg [at Mercedes] that he actually had the upper hand – he had beaten him fairly easily since karting. He’s facing a different generation now.”
