Lewis Hamilton has found an unexpected source of sympathy over his Ferrari struggles from the man whose seat he stole.
The Brit swapped Mercedes for the Scuderia in the offseason, leaving Carlos Sainz homeless before he rocked up lower down the grid at Williams.
And the pair have both struggled with their new squads, something not unusual at all in 2025 with the current era of cars having the slimmest operating window for peak performance.
That’s contributed to Hamilton being completely outperformed by teammate Charles Leclerc, who has been with Ferrari for six seasons.
So for Sainz, he was honest when asked about Hamilton’s tough start.
“I’m not surprised at all,” he told the media at the Miami Grand Prix.
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“I think, for me, I expected it for myself and I expected it with him – because in this sport, there are no secrets.
“When you are up against two teammates like we are like Alex [Albon] and Charles, they know the team inside out.
“They are already performing at the maximum that that car can perform. So you can only do just a little bit better or the same as them.
“You cannot suddenly arrive and be two to three-tenths quicker, because it’s not possible. They are already at the limit of the car.
