Lewis Hamilton facing ‘five-year’ Ferrari battle? Hakkinen drops eye-opening claim

Mika Hakkinen, two times a Formula 1 World Champion, says “patience” will be required from Lewis Hamilton if he wishes to make his Ferrari partnership a success.

That is because, according to Hakkinen, the normal timescale is “four to five” years for a driver to mould a car around their driving style. Hamilton has spoken during his challenging first Ferrari season about not feeling at one with the SF-25 machine.

Will Lewis Hamilton need ‘five years’ to gel with Ferrari car?

F1 2025 has not been the campaign which Ferrari had in mind. Only six rounds remain, and the team is yet to win a grand prix. Hamilton meanwhile is still chasing a first podium with Ferrari following the seven-time World Champion’s blockbuster move from Mercedes.

At several points in the year, Hamilton has made reference to his battle to adapt and master Ferrari F1 machinery.

“It just feels so alien, it really does feel so alien,” he said of the SF-25 after the Bahrain Grand Prix, when speaking with PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher and other media outlets.

“Sometimes I think we all [as drivers] get stuck in our ways, very stuck, ‘I need to keep driving the way I’ve been driving, just make the car come to me a bit’, and that’s not working.

“So I’m adjusting myself to the car, and also just the way the tools that they use, it just drives so much differently.”

Those comments were made back in April, but after September’s Italian Grand Prix, Hamilton admitted that he was “still not 100 per cent comfortable with the car.”

“Ultimately, that’s driving kind of an alien driving style, with a car that I’m not 100 per cent comfortable with,” he added, speaking with PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher and other media outlets.

Unfortunately for Hamilton, he may have an extensive wait ahead until he feels that a Ferrari F1 car drives fully to his strengths.

“First of all, Lewis is just an incredible racing driver,” Hakkinen, the 1998 and 1999 World Champion, began in a Hindustan Times/FanCode interview. “He has succeeded in his career over the years, taking all the pressure that he’s been experiencing. It’s just unbelievable.

“When you come to a new team, normally it can take four to five years until you can make the car to fit your driving style. Thus, Lewis has to have the patience to wait for such a long time.

“You normally don’t jump in the team and the car and say, ‘Oh, this car is fantastic. I’m going to win races.’ It requires a lot of work and a long time.”

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc head-to-head in F1 2025

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Unfortunately for Hamilton, adaptions on his side will likely be needed looking ahead to F1 2026, Hakkinen teases, potentially complicating the process.

In one of the biggest regulatory shifts Formula 1 has witnessed between seasons, the chassis and engine rules will be revamped for F1 2026. The cars are due to become 30 kilograms lighter and embrace active aerodynamics on the front and rear wings, as DRS [Drag Reduction System] bows out.

On the engine side, peak electrical power output is due to almost triple, meaning energy management is expected to become a key performance factor next season.

“The cars are technically changing a lot for next year,” Hakkinen notes. “The very experienced designers can develop a fantastic car.

“Drivers will probably have to change their skills a little bit. They will need to focus very hard to keep the car on track as the cars can become very difficult to drive next year.

“The teams which have good designers who are able to build a great car, they’re going to do well. Teams who are not so experienced will have a lot of problems.”

Hamilton penned a multi-year deal with Ferrari, which is widely reported to run until the end of 2026, with a one-year extension option.

Read next: Could Christian Horner’s F1 comeback really be with Ferrari?