Toto Wolff: Hamilton just needs time to adapt to Ferrari

The Mercedes boss says he has no doubts about Hamilton's abilities and points out that he will be "great" for Ferrari.

The boss of the Silver Arrows, Toto Wolff, said that he has "no doubt" that his former driver Lewis Hamilton will find his "great" old form again while driving for the new team - Ferrari.

Hamilton moved to Ferrari for this season after 12 years with Mercedes, and a brilliant start-to-finish sprint victory for the Chinese Grand Prix was a bright spot in what has been a much more difficult start to the season. Hamilton was behind his teammate Charles Leclerc for most of the race weekend.

After a particularly difficult performance at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Hamilton appeared to have no idea how to fit into Ferrari's 2025 car, admitting there was "not a second" during which he felt comfortable in the new car. In contrast, Leclerc took the podium - the first for Ferrari this year.

China

Now Hamilton's former boss believes the Briton will bounce back to form once he gets used to the new environment, pointing to the weekend in China as proof that the seven-time world champion's magic is still there.

"I think we saw that magic in the sprint race in Shanghai. He absolutely dominated that race," Wolff said at the Miami Grand Prix. "It's not like you have magic in one race and then suddenly lose it in the next. I firmly believe it's still there."

"If he gets all the factors that affect his performance right, if he feels in the right place and if the car suits him, he'll be great. I have no doubt about that."

Wolff also said he was not surprised that Hamilton needed time to adapt to the new environment, a point echoed by Carlos Sainz, the driver the 40-year-old Briton replaced at Ferrari.

"It also doesn't surprise me that there are these challenges," the Austrian added. “He was with us for 12 years. He got used to one way of working, and now he’s at Ferrari where his teammate has been for a long, long time – and he’s obviously one of the very good ones.”

“Looking from the sidelines – and talking to him – I think that’s the path that every new driver who comes to a top team has to go through,” concluded the Mercedes boss.