Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari had a tough time in Shanghai last weekend. F1 expert Bernie Collins thinks the problems at the Chinese Grand Prix and the weak performance of the SF-25 car may have made Hamilton lose some trust in his new team.
Hamilton started the weekend well, doing great in practice and winning the top spot in the sprint shootout. On Saturday, he turned that pole position into a strong win, beating Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen.
Many people thought Hamilton could win the main race on Sunday, but things went wrong. Ferrari’s performance got worse, and Hamilton struggled in qualifying. He ended up finishing in sixth place, far from what was expected.
The problems didn’t stop there. After the race, Hamilton’s and his teammate Charles Leclerc’s cars failed the FIA’s checks. Hamilton’s car had too much plank wear, while Leclerc’s car was underweight. Because of this, both drivers were disqualified.
Bernie Collins, who used to work with Aston Martin, explained that trust between a driver and a team is important. She said that when Sebastian Vettel joined Aston Martin, she wanted him to trust their decisions. She believes that with Hamilton, the mistakes Ferrari has made — like strategy issues, radio problems, and now disqualification — could make it harder for him to fully trust the team.
She added that if Ferrari can figure out what went wrong and fix it, Hamilton might move on quickly. But if these mistakes keep happening, it could slowly damage their relationship.
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