Lewis Hamilton admitted on Thursday that time is no longer on Ferrari’s side this season, but hopes he can push on at the Monaco Grand Prix after a spirited fourth-place finish last weekend.
After swapping Mercedes for Ferrari, the seven-time world champion has faced unprecedented scrutiny and pressure and is still seeking his first podium finish after seven races — a third-place finish in the Miami sprint race notwithstanding.
He knows too that the team may soon abandon developing this year’s car and switch their attention to preparations for 2026 when new power unit regulations are to be introduced.
After a promising display at last Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, where he beat teammate Charles Leclerc for the first time, Hamilton hopes that the upgrades on his car will bring it back to life in qualifying this weekend.
“It’s getting late and we’re running out of time. But for me, it’s a foundation year, getting to grips with the team and helping make changes that are needed to navigate to long-term success. We need a faster car and I have all the faith and belief we can do it.” said Hamilton.
Ferrari are currently in fourth place of the constructors’s standings with 114 points. Hamilton, meanwhile, has contributed 53 points to the Prancing Horse’s cause.
Hamilton and Leclerc also suffered a disqualification in the Chinese Grand Prix for excessive plank wear and an underweight car, respectively.
Double pit-stop to spice up Monaco race
F1 has introduced a mandatory second pit-stop to this season’s Monaco Grand Prix in a bid to make a usually dull race more entertaining, with Red
Bull’s Max Verstappen admitting it could ‘spice things up.’
“It can be straightforward, or completely crazy because of safety cars coming into play or [teams] not making the right calls. I think it will spice it up probably a bit more,” Verstappen said on Thursday about the new rule.
The change is designed to stop a repeat of last year, when a first-lap red flag, allowed everyone to make their one mandatory tire change. With overtaking all but impossible on the narrow track, the rest of the race was a procession.