Lewis Hamilton says changes behind the scenes at Ferrari are a bigger focus for him than the upgrade it is introducing this weekend.
Ferrari have made a step backwards since last season, which they ended fighting for victories. Aside from Hamilton’s victory in the sprint race at Shanghai, which came very much against the run of play, the team has only mustered three podium finishes so far, all of which Hamilton’s team mate Charles Leclerc scored.
For this weekend the team is introducing one of its most significant upgrades so far this year. “The team have worked really hard to bring a new floor,” Hamilton told the official F1 channel. “I really don’t know what kind of step it is, so I’ll find out tomorrow.”
However Hamilton said his focus is on preparing for next season, which will be his second at Ferrari. It will see the introduction of the biggest overhaul in the technical regulations for 12 years.
“I am focused more, I would say, on changes in the background, foundation-building stuff that we need to put in place in order to have a better 2026,” said Hamilton.
“You always want upgrades, so I’m grateful for every little bit, whether it’s a small or big piece. What I would like to say is don’t expect much change.
“Hopefully tomorrow we’ll find something that we didn’t expect, but again we don’t really know, so we will find out tomorrow whether or not. Hopefully it will be a step in the right direction and I think that’s the most important thing, that we are moving forwards.”
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Leclerc is hoping the upgrade provides a general increase in downforce. “There are problems, we are aware of them, we are trying to tackle them,” he explained. “The slow speed [corners] have been an overall weakness so far.
“Are we targeting to try and improve the slow speed performance? Yes. Is there a specific weakness? I honestly don’t really think so.
“I think it’s just overall downforce that we need at low speed that I hope we’ll see [get] better this weekend. But let’s wait and see.”
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