Lewis Hamilton dismissed suggestions he was losing faith in new team Ferrari after just two races as “complete rubbish”.
The seven-time world champion has had a mixed start to the life with the Scuderia, winning the sprint in China before both Ferrari cars were disqualified from the main race.
Hamilton’s skid block underneath his car was found to be in breach of the regulations by half a millimetre while team-mate Charles Leclerc’s car was judged to be underweight.
Cap ✅ shades ✅
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 3, 2025
1644 is ready for the weekend 👌 pic.twitter.com/vYv5EYJ11u
The 40-year-old also finished only 10th on his debut in Australia but Hamilton brushed off any hint of doubt in his new team.
“I saw something asking whether I was losing faith in the team which is complete rubbish. I have absolute 100 per cent faith in this team,” Hamilton said ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
“There was a lot of hype at the start of the year, whether people were expecting that we would be winning from race one or winning the championship in our first year – that was not my expectation.
“I am moving to a new culture, new team and it will take time. I have spent the past two months observing how the team works.
“Through this past week I have been able to make notes and pointers on what we can improve on.”
Ferrari came into the new season expected to contend for both drivers’ and constructors’ championships but a rocky start to the campaign has left them with just 17 points from two races.
Hamilton had a number of testy exchanges with race engineer Riccardo Adami, including over the swapping of places with Leclerc, in China.
The British driver says he still needs time to get used to his new car.
“We have definitely got a lot of work to do to make sure it is better moving forwards,” Hamilton added.
“I am still learning about this car, I have not tested every item that they have yet.
“I didn’t feel frustration or anything after (China), it is what it is. We have gone through everything at the factory.
“Lots of learnings, we take the highs and lows together as a team.
“The most impressive thing is how the team have taken it, how they’ve worked through the data to see how we progress from here.”
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