Lewis Hamilton Voice Frustration Over Ferrari B...read more

Lewis Hamilton Labels Ferrari Brake Struggles a ‘Lottery’ After Challenging Imola Practice

Lewis Hamilton has voiced his frustration over ongoing brake issues with his Ferrari, likening the unpredictable performance to a “lottery” following a difficult second practice session at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion, now in his debut season with Ferrari after leaving Mercedes, experienced a promising start to the weekend with a fifth-place finish in FP1. However, he fell to 11th in FP2 after making what he described as two extremely minor changes to his SF-25 – changes that unexpectedly triggered major brake problems.

“FP1 felt really strong,” Hamilton said. “I was happy with the car and it seemed like we had taken a step forward. But then I made the tiniest adjustments – probably the smallest I’ve made all year – and suddenly we had serious brake issues in FP2.”

The 40-year-old explained that these brake troubles have been a recurring issue throughout the season and something completely new to his racing experience.

“It’s been quite a big issue all year, honestly,” he added. “I’ve never had anything like this before.”

Hamilton is now using Brembo brakes, a departure from the Carbon Industrie systems he was familiar with at Mercedes. However, he insisted the problem is not due to a lack of adaptation.

“It’s not about adjusting to the brakes – it’s about the performance. It’s just inconsistent,” he said.

Asked whether Ferrari could resolve the issue before Saturday’s running, Hamilton admitted there was no clear fix in sight.

“It really is a lottery,” he said. “You put on one set and it works, then another and it doesn’t. So we’ll roll the dice again and see what happens tomorrow. Hopefully, we find something that clicks. The team is working hard on it.”

As the season progresses, Hamilton and Ferrari continue to search for consistency and reliability, with the hope that the team can overcome these technical hurdles before Sunday’s race.