Mika Hakkinen’s Ferrari reality check for Hamilton: ‘Four to five years’ to make it yours
Lewis Hamilton’s first season in red has been long on intrigue and short on payoff, and now one of the sport’s coolest heads has offered a blunt reality check. Mika Hakkinen believes Hamilton will need patience — perhaps years of it — to truly bend a Ferrari to his will.
“When you come to a new team, normally it can take four to five years until you can make the car to fit your driving style,” the two-time World Champion said in an interview with Hindustan Times/FanCode. “Thus, Lewis has to have the patience to wait for such a long time.”
That’s not exactly the slogan anyone in Maranello wants to print on the factory wall. Ferrari came into 2025 with big statements and bigger expectations. With six rounds left, the headline numbers are stark: the team is still chasing its first win of the season, and Hamilton, the blockbuster signing, is still waiting on his first podium in scarlet.
The seven-time champion has been candid about the struggle. From the opening flyaways he’s been talking about the SF-25 like a stranger you’re trying to like. “It just feels so alien, it really does feel so alien,” he said after Bahrain, explaining that the usual approach — make the car come to you — wasn’t cutting it. “So I’m adjusting myself to the car, and also just the way the tools that they use, it just drives so much differently.”
By Monza, the tune hadn’t changed much. “Ultimately, that’s driving kind of an alien driving style, with a car that I’m not 100 per cent comfortable with,” he admitted.
Hakkinen’s point is that none of this should be surprising. Even for drivers of Hamilton’s calibre — and the Finn was keen to stress that, calling him “just an incredible racing driver” who’s carried immense pressure for years — embedding yourself in the fabric of a new team, its processes and its car concept, isn’t a one-winter job. It’s a project measured in seasons.
And here’s the kicker: that clock could reset again next year.
Formula 1 tears up the blueprint for 2026. The cars will shed around 30kg and bring active aerodynamics to both wings, with DRS stepping aside as part of the overhaul. On the power unit side, the electrical deployment climbs dramatically, putting an even bigger premium on energy management. In other words, the way drivers extract lap time will change — and change a lot.
“The cars are technically changing a lot for next year,” Hakkinen said. “Drivers will probably have to change their skills a little bit. They will need to focus very hard to keep the car on track as the cars can become very difficult to drive next year. The teams which have good designers who are able to build a great car, they’re going to do well. Teams who are not so experienced will have a lot of problems.”
For Hamilton and Ferrari, that’s both a challenge and an opportunity. The Briton has a multi-year deal that’s widely reported to run through the end of 2026 with an option beyond, which aligns him squarely with the first phase of F1’s new era. If Ferrari nails the concept, the investment pays off quickly. If not, the acclimatisation loop he’s in now gets another twist.
None of this makes for comforting reading if you’re impatient for instant fireworks. But it’s the honest state of play. Hamilton’s been trying to meet the SF-25 halfway, learning the “tools” and the language of a new car while ticking through the calendar without the result that signals liftoff. Ferrari, for its part, has been solid without being sharp enough to win.
There’s still a romantic pull to the whole thing. Hamilton in scarlet is a story that begs for a soaring final act. The middle chapter, though, is proving gritty, and Hakkinen’s reminder is that it probably has to be. The best driver-car marriages in F1 aren’t speed dates; they’re slow builds. And with 2026 looming like a second debut, patience — on both sides — might be the only realistic strategy.
