Red Bull man addresses Lewis Hamilton's below-par start to life at Ferrari

Red Bull man Franz Tost doesn't think too highly about the suggestions that Lewis Hamilton is struggling at Ferrari, as he feels that the driver is taking time to adapt to the car. The start of the 2025 F1 season has seen the alliance of the most successful driver in the sport with the most successful team as something where the spotlight tends to shine the brightest.

The partnership has only been 5 races long, and the alarm bells have started to ring. It all started decently in China, where Lewis Hamilton secured a pole position and a win in the sprint.

That was a roaring start for a driver who had been under pressure since last season and had not shown the kind of form that he was known for. However, if we remove that sprint segment for the drivers, it's a disappointing story.

In every Grand Prix, teammate Charles Leclerc has finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Not only that, but the last couple of races have seen the gap between the two be around half a second in qualifying. That's the kind of gap that is just not acceptable and has led to a lot of speculation around the driver and his form.

Former AlphaTauri boss and now Red Bull consultant Franz Tost has, however, disagreed with such a notion and feels that the driver is still getting used to the car. Talking to F1-Insider, he said:

"A super driver has to be able to adapt quickly. It's just that the Ferrari is currently two to three tenths too slow. Hamilton showed in the sprint in China what he's capable of when everything is just right. He's learning more with the car every day."

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No issue with Lewis Hamilton's public admission of struggles

Lewis Hamilton, on his part, has been very public with his struggles with the car. The driver even admitted after Saudi Arabia that he didn't expect things to get dramatically better throughout the year. Franz Tost argued that there was nothing wrong with being transparent, especially when the sport has become more and more complex over the years. Talking to F1-Insider, he said:

"Why should he hide it? It shows how complex Formula 1 has become. Even Sainz, Hamilton's predecessor at Ferrari, still has problems with the Williams. Because he is used to the Ferrari engine. The Mercedes engine in the Williams has a completely different character, in terms of the rev range and so on. That all takes time. Especially because it's a matter of hundredths of a second that can make the difference. To come back to Hamilton, China showed that some tracks are easier than others."

The seven-time world champion would be hoping that things take a turn for the better, as the pressure would start mounting from Ferrari's senior management with every bad weekend.