Lewis Hamilton admitted Thursday that the weather was no longer on the side of Ferrari this season, but hopes that he will be able to continue at the Monaco Grand Prix after a fourth lively place last weekend. After going from Mercedes, where he won six of his seven world pilot titles in Ferrari, Hamilton faced an unprecedented examination and pressure and still seeks his first podium after seven races. He also knows that the team could soon abandon the development of this year’s car and pay their attention to preparations for 2026 when new electrical unit regulations must be introduced.
After a promising exhibition at the Emilia Romagne Grand Prix last Sunday, where he beat the teammate Charles Leclerc for the first time, Hamilton hopes that the upgrades of his car will bring him back to qualification this weekend.
“It is done late and we are missing time,” he said about his development of cars for 2025. “But for me, it’s a basic year, to adapt to the team and help make changes necessary to sail towards long-term success.
“We need a faster car and I have all the faith and the belief that we can do.”
An exams’ leclerc said that he was unlikely to repeat his emotional triumph for Ferrari last year in Monaco.
He became the first home winner in the modern era last season with a triumph of a copy book in front of family and friends.
“If you want an honest answer (about my chances), then low,” he said. “Because unfortunately, our car was not particularly strong in the corners at low speed and there are only corners at low speed here in Monaco.
“On paper, it doesn’t look like the most promising track for us, but Monaco is so unique and so different that we can have a good surprise once we have put the car tomorrow, which, I hope, will arrive!”
Leclerc has an advantage over most of his rivals in that he grew up and went to school in Monaco and knows the tight and winding streets of the Mediterranean Principality better than anyone.
He added: “I hope we will discover something new in our car that we have not yet seen since the start of the season.
“Until we managed to qualify and until this turn at Q3, you have the hope of doing something magical because you don’t really know where you are.
“So, I will have my hopes until the end. So I always hope that we can reproduce what happened last year.
“Obviously, it’s always very fresh in my mind to return to this paddock. The last time I was there, we won, and it was a very special moment for me.”
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