Lewis Hamilton’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was a familiar story from his opening rounds of the 2025 season, as his radio chatter sounded more like a coaching session than a grand prix.

The Ferrari driver, in his fifth grand prix for the team, continued to prompt race engineer Ricardo Adami for guidance on where he was losing time to his team mate Charles Leclerc. In this race Hamilton’s deficit accumulated to more than half a minute.

It might have been slightly less had he not fought Lando Norris so hard early in the race. The time lost surely cost Norris the chance to attack Hamilton’s team mate Charles Leclerc for third place. But it also delayed Hamilton, who might have drawn within range of sixth-placed Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the driver who now occupies the Mercedes he drove last year.

After Hamilton took the chequered flag, Adami gave a positive assessment of his performance in the race. Hamilton kept his counsel over how he thought he’d done.

Hamilton’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix radio

Jump to:

First stint: Mediums
Second stint: Hards
Finish

First stint: Mediums

There were several occasions during the race where Hamilton didn’t immediately understand what Adami was telling him.

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When Hamilton’s tyres began to go off his team advised him they couldn’t pit him right away because he would rejoin the track in too much traffic.

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Lap: 1/50 HAM: 2’12.474
Adami Reset your brake balance. Reset your brake balance.
Adami Safety Car, and staying out.
Adami Charge button on. Good start. Good job.
Lap: 2/50 HAM: 2’43.542
Hamilton Is everyone okay?
Adami Everyone okay, double yellow turn four.
Adami And target between minus 25.
Hamilton Sorry?
Adami You can target 70, 75 on the dash, on the tyres
Adami Tsunoda is retiring. Behind you Sainz, Norris, Albon P9 and Alonso P10. Work on your front tyres.
Lap: 6/50 HAM: 1’34.459
Adami Higher peak, higher peak suggest for turn 13, one-three. And don’t push the entry in 22.
Hamilton Understood.
Lap: 7/50 HAM: 1’34.994
Adami Norris two seconds behind. Suggest engine braking three.
Hamilton Where am I losing? Struggling.
Lap: 8/50 HAM: 1’34.444
Adami Mainly high-speed.
Adami And 13 apex speed, one-three.
Adami Better first sector, two-tenths faster than Antonelli ahead.
Hamilton Apex speed is okay at turn [unclear] two?
Adami Turn 22 to improve, two-tenths to be found.
Lap: 9/50 HAM: 1’34.460
Hamilton Apex speed?
Adami Apex speed, yeah.
Lap: 10/50 HAM: 1’34.580
Adami Diff mid three might help.
Adami Switch yellow. 22 was better.

Towards the end of his first stint Hamilton had to deal with the leaders emerging from the pits behind him on fresh tyres. Piastri got past him around the outside of turn 21, though Hamilton tried without success to attack him back. Verstappen passed him at the final corner soon afterwards.

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Lap: 11/50 HAM: 1’34.456
Adami And tyre phase update when you can.
Adami Think about engine braking four, engine braking four.
Adami Verstappen 34.0 and Charles 34.3. Norris behind 34.1
Lap: 12/50 HAM: 1’35.310
Hamilton The rears are dropping.
Adami There’s no good traffic gap behind.
Hamilton My rears feel they’re fading.
Norris passes him at the final corner, Hamilton repasses on the pit straight. The same happens again on the next lap
Lap: 14/50 HAM: 1’34.818
Hamilton Yeah the rears are dropping. Really hard.
Adami Go back to engine braking three to help.
Lap: 15/50 HAM: 1’35.832
Hamilton Norris passes him on the pit straight
I’m just sliding around out here, mate. Can’t turn rears.
Adami Okay understood, we believe it’s overheating and you’ll get them back
Hamilton Are the others struggling or not?
Adami Deg is higher than expected on the medium.
Adami Need to improve 22, apex speed and better exit, Charles lap time 34.3.
Lap: 16/50 HAM: 1’34.955
Adami Try b-mig three and diff entry seven.
Lap: 17/50 HAM: 1’34.686
Adami Turn 22 was slightly better
Hamilton Give me the pace of the cars ahead, mate. Need some more information.
Adami Verstappen 33.7, 33.7.
Hamilton No, cars ahead of me, mate.
Adami Understood. Norris 34.2, Antonelli 34.7
Lap: 18/50 HAM: 1’34.592
Hamilton Front sliding a lot in high-speed.
Adami Okay understood. Antonelli 35.0. And think about diff entry three, direction.
Adami Try to improve the peak into 22 for a better exit. This lap is good. Antonelli 35.2.
Lap: 19/50 HAM: 1’34.892
Adami Don’t push the entry in 13, one-three. Antonelli car ahead, 2.7
Adami That was a good 13, good job.
Hamilton I lost two tenths.
Adami You have [unclear] Charles in 13, for info. And Charles lap time 35.5. 34.5, sorry, 34.5.
Lap: 20/50 HAM: 1’34.720
Adami And Piastri boxed. He’s getting out of the pits.
Hamilton Antonelli’s in.
Adami Charles lap time 34.4.
Piastri passes him at turn 21
Lap: 21/50 HAM: 1’35.128
Adami Hamilton attacks Piastri on the outside at turn 27 but doesn’t re-pass him
And staying out, staying out
Lap: 22/50 HAM: 1’35.569
Hamilton Definitely need front wing.
Adami Okay, copy.
Hamilton Understeering too much.
Adami Verstappen 1.1 behind. Understood.
Adami Try to improve brake peak in 22 and 16.

Second stint: Hards

Again Hamilton didn’t immediately understand that he was being advised to take it easy on his new hard tyres at the beginning of the stint so that they wouldn’t go off too soon.

Lap: 23/50 HAM: 1’37.866
Adami And box, Lewis, box. Pit confirm and box.
Verstappen passes him at the exit of the last corner
Lap: 24/50 HAM: 1’51.801
Hamilton Give me the gap.
Adami Antonelli seven ahead. Can cut the peak of temperature on these tyres.
Hamilton Can what?
Adami Try to cut the peak of the temperature of these tyres in the direction of slow intro. Car behind 2.2 behind. Try slow intro. Antonelli did a 33.6 first timed lap.
Lap: 25/50 HAM: 1’34.037
Adami Brake peak heavy turning into four, one tenth and a half, and don’t push the entry into six.
Lap: 26/50 HAM: 1’33.542
Adami This lap is good. Antonelli 33.8.

Hamilton constantly asked for feedback about where Leclerc was finding more time.

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Hamilton began to close on Antonelli as the second stint wore on. Antonelli’s tyres were four laps older than his.

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Lap: 27/50 HAM: 1’33.720
Hamilton Pace.
Adami Antonelli 34.0. You can release turn 22, two tenths there.
Lap: 28/50 HAM: 1’33.365
Hamilton Sectors.
Adami Turn four to improve apex speed. One tenth and a half turn four.
Adami Charles still out on the medium, 33.4
Hamilton Yeah, I’ve got massive deg, mate. My rears are really hot.
Lap: 29/50 HAM: 1’33.810
Adami Rears are overheating, yeah, try to keep it together.
Adami This lap was good
Hamilton Where can I save tyres?
Lap: 30/50 HAM: 1’33.564
Adami Lap time for Russell 33.4. Antonelli lap time 33.8.
Adami [Unclear] apex turn four.
Hamilton Okay.
Adami Car ahead is Hadjar, he is on the hard, five-and-a-half ahead.
Hamilton Right-rear particularly getting hot.
Lap: 31/50 HAM: 1’34.392
Adami Understood. Antonelli 34.4, faster than him.
Lap: 32/50 HAM: 1’33.595
Adami Diff mid three for deg. Was a first strike in 22.
Lap: 33/50 HAM: 1’33.603
Adami Antonelli 33.9.
Hamilton Gap?
Adami 6.8 seconds
Lap: 34/50 HAM: 1’33.876
Adami And we suggest b-bal 62
Adami And switch yellow.
Lap: 35/50 HAM: 1’33.564
Adami That was a good section. Half a second faster than Antonelli, first sector.
Adami Try to not push [unclear] for a better exit. Antonelli lap time 33.9.
Lap: 36/50 HAM: 1’33.291
Adami And gap is six and a half.
Adami Diff entry 10 might help. Good improvement in four. Diff mid four as well, diff mid four.
Lap: 37/50 HAM: 1’33.044
Adami Antonelli 33.6. 13 laps to go, one-three.
Lap: 38/50 HAM: 1’32.925
Adami The pace is good. Antonelli 33.7.
Adami The pace is good, the gap is five seconds. Try to push more in nine and 10.
Lap: 39/50 HAM: 1’33.285
Hamilton Try to what?
Adami Push more in nine and 10 if you can.
Adami Diff high speed four, might help in turn nine.
Lap: 40/50 HAM: 1’32.833
Adami Gap is 4.4
Lap: 41/50 HAM: 1’33.022
Adami Gap is four seconds.
Adami Find one, two tenths in 9 and 10, less trail braking, no trail braking.
Lap: 42/50 HAM: 1’32.640
Adami Gap three and a half, Antonelli 33.3.
Adami A very good lap. Gap 3.3. Eight laps to go, we can get him.
Lap: 43/50 HAM: 1’32.600
Adami Diff high speed five to help you. Antonelli 33.3, gap 2.8.
Lap: 44/50 HAM: 1’32.789
Adami Six laps to go.
Adami Gap is 2.2. We could try a left toggle, turn one-two.
Lap: 45/50 HAM: 1’32.821
Adami You can reset your diff entry, gap 2.0. Four laps to go, think about engine braking two.

Finish

Hamilton couldn’t get any closer to Antonelli over the final laps.

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Lap: 47/50 HAM: 1’33.060
Adami B-bal 61 suggestion and avoid trail braking to nine. You can go [state of charge] four.
Lap: 49/50 HAM: 1’33.012
Adami Two laps to go. Diff entry nine.
Hamilton The tyres have gone off.
Lap: 50/50 HAM: 1’33.435
Adami And last lap. Copy that.
Chequered flag
Adami That’s a P7.
Adami There was a good pace in the middle of the second stint, and understeer I believe in the first one, and overheating. Piastri then Verstappen and Charles P3 and Lando behind him. Russell, Antonelli, behind you Sainz, Albon, Hadjar P10.
Hamilton Well done to Charles. I’m sorry we didn’t have the pace today.
Adami I remind you P zero.

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