Hamilton: Ferrari podium finishes still 'off the cards for a while'

Lewis Hamilton believes Ferrari’s current form is still insufficient to challenge for podiums on merit, while admitting that he also remains short of full comfort in the Scuderia’s SF-25 despite signs of progress at Monza.

The Briton finished sixth in the Italian Grand Prix, climbing from 10th on the grid after serving a five-place penalty carried over from Zandvoort. Although he felt fifth was possible with sharper strategy, Hamilton conceded the gap to the front-runners is still too great.

Reflecting on his performance, Hamilton was encouraged by progress but realistic about Ferrari’s ceiling.

“I think overall our performance was fairly decent,” he said after last Sunday’s event.

“We obviously don't have the pace of the cars much further ahead, so competing for the top three is off the cards for a while, but we keep pushing and trying to extract more.

“This weekend built a lot on my confidence with the car, [but] definitely I’m still not 100% comfortable in the car.”

Hamilton spent the early laps duelling with Yuki Tsunoda, Fernando Alonso and Gabriel Bortoleto as he carved his way toward the top six.

But when the pit window opened, Ferrari chose not to counter George Russell’s undercut attempt, leaving Hamilton out longer on his medium tyres. By the time he stopped, he had slipped behind Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll, losing the chance to challenge his team-mate.

Ferrari’s Straight-Line Speed, Corner Struggles

While Charles Leclerc briefly clung to the McLarens and a Red Bull in the opening phase, he overheated his tyres in the process trying to sustain the pace.

Rivals noted the Ferrari’s trade-offs, with Oscar Piastri remarking the car was quick on the straights but lagging in the corners.

Hamilton acknowledged the fight against McLaren and Red Bull was always going to be uphill.

“I'm sure we didn't have the pace of the McLarens and the Red Bulls,” he admitted.

“But I definitely think Charles and I, if we were together, we could have had a strong race in perhaps keeping up with, maybe trying to keep up more with the guys further ahead.

“I really don't know. I just think they were just too fast, the guys further ahead, but I definitely think we would have been fifth, fourth.”

Strategy Cost Fifth Place

Despite an excellent getaway, Hamilton felt Ferrari squandered a better finish by missing the chance to pit earlier.

“I had a really good start – I had to lift just after because it was such a good start – and then I got kind of squeezed in between two cars,” he explained.

“But other than that I positioned the car really nicely and I think made my way forwards, and I think I could have got fifth today.

“I think I was 1.5 seconds behind George, we should have tried to undercut him. But we missed that opportunity, then I was miles behind after that.”

With Leclerc and Hamilton finishing fourth and sixth, respectively, Ferrari’s performance showed promise but underscored the work needed to challenge the frontrunners.

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