“These rules have made life tough for everyone”: Lewis Hamilton reflects on difficult last 3 years with Mercedes ahead of Ferrari move

Despite two wins in the 2024 season, Lewis Hamilton expressed frustration with Mercedes-AMG's race cars. During a recent interview, the 7x Formula 1 world champion compared the inconsistencies in the car's performance with 'playing golf.'

Hamilton and Mercedes-AMG's trouble began during the 2022 season (implementation of new aero regulations). Their 2022 contender, the W13, was plagued with two crucial issues, porpoising and the failed zero-side pod design. It took almost an entire season for the German outfit to get the issues sorted.

However, this pushed the Brackley-based squad behind its rivals Red Bull Racing, Ferrari, and McLaren, who have made significant gains in terms of performance and reliability. What frustrated the 39-year-old was the abrupt gains and losses of outright performance with both the W14 and W15 race cars. He opened up about the challenges during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend (via Formula 1).

“This one’s definitely been better. The last two years, it made all of us in the team’s lives tough. I would say these rules have made life tough for everyone," Hamilton claimed.

“It’s a bit like playing golf. You get one good hit and it makes you continue, but all the rest of the shots are really bad! It’s that kind of experience. It can be so frustrating, but you still love it and you still continue to go. You’ve got to keep pushing because you’re searching for that feeling again like we’ve had at Silverstone or Spa,” he added.

With six more races to go before the 7x champion departs the Silver Arrows to join the Ferrari, Hamilton will be looking to win more points for Mercedes in the constructors' table.

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"Ferrari has always been in his thoughts" - Ferrari's team principal Fred Vasseur claims it wasn't difficult to convince Lewis Hamilton to make the move

For the past decade, Lewis Hamilton has been synonymous with Mercedes-AMG in Formula 1. However, the legendary British racer surprised everyone with his move to Ferrari in 2025.

Speaking at the 2024 Trento Sports Festival (via Gazzetta dello Sport), Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said it was relatively easy to persuade Hamilton to make the move.

"It [signing Lewis Hamilton] wasn’t difficult, actually. Ferrari has always been in his thoughts in some ways and now the stars have aligned. But he comes to win, not on holiday. And I’m convinced that we have everything to try,” Vasseur commented.

Even Hamilton had claimed that the 'stars aligned' during a pre-season media interaction in February.

“It was really cool to see him (Vasseur) step into the Alfa (Romeo) team and then when he got the job at Ferrari I was just so happy for him, and I think just the stars aligned. I think it really wouldn’t have happened without him, so I’m really grateful and really excited about the work that he’s doing there,” Lewis Hamilton said.

As for the 2024 season, Hamilton is currently sixth in the drivers' championship with 174 points. He is 71 and 16 points behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, respectively.