Lewis Hamilton has dismissed claims he has “lost faith” in Ferrari after their double disqualification in China as “complete rubbish.”
Hamilton won the sprint race in China last time out but was disqualified from the grand prix, as was teammate Charles Leclerc, after both Ferrari cars failed post-race technical checks.
It leaves the seven-time world champion with just nine points after the first two rounds of the 2025 season, leaving him ninth in the standings and 35 points behind leader Lando Norris already. However, Hamilton insists he still backs the team “100%”, following his move from Mercedes in the off-season.
“I saw something asking whether I was losing faith in the team which is complete rubbish,” he said at media day ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
“I have absolute 100 per cent faith in this team.”
Hamilton also admitted that he did not expect to be fighting for the championship at the start of this year, as he continues to adapt to his new surroundings with Ferrari.
“There was a lot of hype at the start of the season – what’s important to remember is that this is my first year with the team,” Hamilton said, in Suzuka.
“I didn’t expect to win from the get-go, and I didn’t expect us to be fighting for the championship straight away.
“I’ve tried to spend this time observing how the team operates now we’re running, learning as much and as fast as I can.”
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.”
Additional reporting by PA
