Hamilton says aggressive breaking could unlock potential in Ferrari car

Lewis Hamilton says improving his confidence under braking could be key to extracting more performance from Ferrari’s SF-25.

The seven-time world champion has been adapting to Ferrari’s Brembo braking system after 12 years using Carbon Industries materials at Mercedes. While Hamilton has shown flashes of speed, he admits the balance of the car has made it difficult to be fully aggressive in braking zones.

“I think there are some improvements to be made in terms of how aggressive I can be,” Hamilton explained. “The car has been quite snappy, so I’m still not 100% confident on the brakes when I’m attacking. At Monza I was, but in Azerbaijan it didn’t feel better with the set-up we had — but it is progressing.”

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Hamilton also addressed the battle in the constructors’ standings, with Mercedes currently second on 310 points, just four ahead of Ferrari and 18 clear of a resurgent Red Bull.

“McLaren has been ahead all year, and we haven’t made any steps or improvements, so we are a good couple of steps behind,” Hamilton said. “Red Bull took an upgraded floor in Italy, and they’ve now picked up their pace. I expect they’re probably going to win a few races.”