Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari F1 car “completely different” to past Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari’s F1 car is “completely different” to the Mercedes and McLarens he has driven in the past.

The seven-time world champion is gearing up for his first season with Ferrari after completing a blockbuster transfer from F1 rivals Mercedes.

Hamilton has driven Ferrari’s 2023 and 2024 cars in recent weeks to help with his acclimatisation and did an initial test of the team’s 2025 new challenger on Wednesday.

The SF-25 is the car Hamilton hopes will take him to a record-breaking eighth world title.

The 40-year-old Briton has revealed the Ferrari cars he has driven are “a lot different” to the ground-effect Mercedes machines he has piloted in recent years.

“I am still acclimatising to the Ferrari car,” Hamilton told the BBC.

“It is a lot different to what I have lived with for the last few years in this generation of cars, but also controls and everything.

“Over the last 10 years, I have been used to a certain way of working and I am still adapting to those things.”

Speaking separately to media including Crash.net, Hamilton elaborated: “I mean, it's completely different.

“I thought, you know, it's another Formula 1 car. When I went from McLaren to Mercedes, there were similarities. It's still powered by Mercedes, so the sound, the vibration was all the same.

“It was similar. And whilst a slightly different characteristic of a car, this is a step with the whole thing being completely different. It's a really exciting experience.

“This is something I've really enjoyed trying to wrap my mind around. Particularly also just in settings and the terminology they use, the different ways that they can set up a car. That's taken some getting used to, for sure.”

Lewis Hamilton adapting driving style to Ferrari

Hamilton, who largely struggled to get to grips with Mercedes’ W13, W14 and W15 cars, has admitted he is having to adapt his driving style to suit the Ferrari.

“I am definitely having to adapt my driving style. It's rare that you just jump in and it just fits,” he explained.

"For example, the steering wheel is completely different. All the switch settings are completely different. The software is different.

“I am adapting to a car that's made quite differently to what I've worked with in the past. To achieve the similar sort of thing, the feeling is a lot different.

“I don't feel that currently I'm having to change my driving style too much. I'm actually feeling quite comfortable in the car and just taking one step at a time.

“We'll see as we get further down the line at the real race circuits that we're going to, just how much aligns and how much change I might have to do.

“The key is to be open-minded and to be dynamic. I think, luckily, with my experience, I should be able to do that.”