Lewis Hamilton was in a despondent mood after finishing seventh in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The seven-time world champion, 40, has struggled in his opening five F1 races for Ferrari, failing to finish higher than fifth in a grand prix, though he did win the sprint race in China.
Yet while Hamilton’s teammate Charles Leclerc finished on the podium in third, Hamilton finished the 50-lap race where he started – in seventh.
The Briton complained over team radio that his car was “sliding” around the high-speed street circuit as he struggled for grip – but in the media pen afterwards, he did not blame the SF-25 car for his performance.
Asked if he felt comfortable at all, in the fifth race of the 2025 season, Hamilton’s reply was short: “No. There wasn’t one second.
“Clearly the car is capable of being P3, Charles did a great job today, I can’t blame the car.”
Questioned if he had any idea why the car wasn’t working for him, Hamilton simply responded: “No.”
Sky F1 pundit Martin Brundle, however, says he doesn’t “buy into” Hamilton’s continuous struggles with the car.
“I struggle to buy into that he doesn’t understand the car, we’re knocking on the door with May,” Brundle said.
“Lewis hasn’t gelled with this car, Lewis likes a car in a certain way. It’s difficult days, what’s a bit odd is all of a sudden he was right there [at the end of the race].
“It took Ollie Bearman a day here [last year], he wasn’t relearning a car.
“Antonelli has got used to working with Bono [at Mercedes]. I struggle to buy into that, honestly. We know Lewis is better and faster than that, something is not working and something is not gelling.”
Leclerc, meanwhile, was satisfied with his evening’s work after driving from fourth to third, in doing so securing Ferrari’s first podium of the season.
“I was very happy with the race today, we maximised absolutely everything – very proud of what we’ve done,” he said.
“I never expected to finish here, I thought this race was about defending the cars behind.”
After the first five races of the season, Hamilton is seventh in the drivers’ standings and trails championship leader Oscar Piastri by 68 points heading into the next race in Miami.
