Hamilton Dismisses Claims of Losing Faith in Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton has debunked suggestions that he has lost faith in Ferrari, calling such claims “complete rubbish”.

The seven-time world champion made the statement ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

Hamilton’s comments come after a tumultuous start to his Ferrari career, which saw him win the sprint race in Shanghai before being disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix due to a technical infringement.

“I saw someone said whether I’m losing faith in the team, which is complete rubbish,” Hamilton said. “I have absolute 100 per cent faith in this team.”

Hamilton attributed the distorted expectations surrounding his move from Mercedes to Ferrari to the “huge amount of hype” generated by his transfer.

“I don’t know if everyone was expecting us to be winning from race one and winning a championship in our first year,” Hamilton said. “That wasn’t my expectation. I know that I’m coming into a new culture, a new team and it’s going to take time.”

The 40-year-old Hamilton also expressed sympathy for Red Bull’s Liam Lawson, who was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda after just two races. Hamilton described the decision as “pretty harsh” and acknowledged the pressure faced by young drivers in the sport.

“I think there’s naturally a lot of pressure on youngsters coming in,” said Hamilton. “There’s no way you can get fully on top of a car which is known to be not the easiest car to necessarily drive. Just to give him two races was pretty harsh.”

PUNCH