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The marriage between Formula One’s most popular team and driver has gotten off to a bumpy start.
Ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton admitted his first six races with Ferrari have been more difficult than he expected.
“I anticipated it would be very tough, because I’ve joined a team before,” Hamilton said, according to Motorsport.com. “I came in with a really open mind. I didn’t know how tough it was going to be.”
Hamilton moved to the Scuderia this year after spending 12 seasons with Mercedes, winning six drivers’ championships and eight constructors’ titles. While it’s unclear how much his deal is with Ferrari, reports have indicated it could be as high as $100 million per year.
The 40-year-old sits at seventh in the drivers’ championship with 41 points, one place behind 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli, who replaced him at Mercedes. Hamilton also trails his teammate Charles Leclerc (53 points).
After finishing in second place last year, just 14 points off McLaren, Ferrari entered this year poised to challenge for the championship—and the estimated $140 million prize. But through the first quarter of the season, Ferrari has struggled to compete with the other teams at the top of the field. It sits in fourth with 94 points, 155 fewer than championship-leading McLaren.
It would be shocking to see the partnership between Hamilton and Ferrari end after just one season. But, at least for this year, Hamilton doesn’t seem optimistic about the idea of Ferrari challenging for the title.
“From all the years of experience, when you’re over 100 points behind at this point in the season, with a car that’s up against a car that’s quite dominant, you have to assume that you’re not necessarily fighting for the win in the championship,” Hamilton said. “But things could turn around.”
