Carlos Sainz explains why Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari struggles were always inevitable

Carlos Sainz says he’s “not surprised at all” by Lewis Hamilton’s slow start at Ferrari.

Hamilton has struggled to get up to speed with his new team since making the switch from Mercedes.

Although Hamilton won the sprint race in China, his start to life at Ferrari has been largely disappointing.

Saudi Arabia was a real struggle for Hamilton, who finished over 30 seconds behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton admitted after the race that there’s no quick fix - and it could be a long season.

Sainz, who drove alongside Leclerc at Ferrari between 2021 and 2024, weighed in on Hamilton’s early difficulties at Ferrari.

“No, I’m not surprised at all,” Sainz said in Miami, where Crash.net are present in the paddock. “I expected it for myself, and I expected it with him, because in this sport, there are no secrets.”

Sainz has gone through a similarly difficult adaptation process at Williams, having made way for Hamilton at Ferrari.

However, Sainz has recently made a breakthrough, out-qualifying Alex Albon in the last two events.

Sainz thinks that beating Leclerc or Albon, who are well-embedded in their respective teams, was always going to be a tall order.

“When you are up against two teammates like Alex and Charles, who know the team inside out and are already performing at the maximum, you can only do a little bit better or the same as them,” Sainz added.

“You cannot suddenly arrive and be two, three tenths quicker because it’s not possible, they are already at the limit of the car.

“So when you jump to a new team and you're expected by yourself and by everyone around you to be at that level, you know it's going to take time. They know a lot more than you, so it's going take a bit of time and the sooner you make that process and the sooner you are at that level the better.

“But for some drivers, it might take longer or shorter. Lewis had an amazing weekend in China then seemed to be having a bit more trouble now, but it's going to take time.”

Modern F1 cars are “particularly difficult”

Sainz offered insight into how only one particular driving style seems to work with this generation of cars.

That’s in contrast to 2021 - before the start of the ‘ground effect’ era - when drivers could stick to their own style.

“You need to drive them in a very specific way to be quick,” Sainz explained. “The cars of 21, you could come in with two or three different driving styles and more or less get to the same lap time, because the car would allow you to get to that limit in different ways.

“The more I get to drive this generation of cars, the more I dig into the data, the more I realise you need to be closed loop to one driving style and if you don't drive in that way, you're never going to be quick.

“It’s just how the car interacts with you, which allows you to drive in that specific way that you need to make sure you understand. But it's a good point, I think these cars are particularly difficult.”