This will be Hamilton's best chance to end podium-free streak

Piastri, as of late, has been struggling with self-admitted adaptation issues to his otherwise highly Grand Prix-winning McLaren machinery.

Previously a consistent race winner and podium place finisher, Piastri has seen his form dilute significantly with the Aussie driver failing to capitalise on his machinery's potential at each of the last four races, losing significant ground in the title fight against Max Verstappen and ultimately relinquishing his championship lead for the first time since 20 April to Lando Norris following the British driver's latest win in Mexico.

It is this particular trend - a cause for concern for Piastri - that could ramp up Hamilton's hopes to achieve a first-ever podium in Ferrari red, and to avoid his first podium-free season in his Formula One career, having already broken the Scuderia's record for a driver podium-less streak at COTA.

Of course, the seven-time world champion would still have to fight the last podium scoring places with the likes of former Mercedes teammate George Russell and current teammate Charles Leclerc, but Hamilton has already proven to have become fully adapted to Ferrari's comple SF-25.

Last time out in Mexico, for instance, the 40-year-old was able to pip both drivers in qualifying - with Verstappen and Piastri also slotting in behind Hamilton on Saturday afternoon.

In fact, prior to a penalty triggering incident while battling Verstappen on lap 6, Hamilton looked set to bring Maranello his first silverware rewarding finishing result of the season, confirming that when the pace is there, he's more than able to fight and beat any driver on the grid.

However, it will require, as emphasised by Leclerc in post-Mexico GP statements, nothing short of perfection from Ferrari's side in terms of execution throughout the weekend to make it happen.

As it stands, with an outlook on the remaining four championships rounds, Hamilton could have his shot to finish on the rostrum already in Brazil, the upcoming race weekend, which looks likely to be raced under wet conditions, with the seven-time world champion often proving himself to be one of the most talented drivers in the wet.

Being a sprint weekend also yields additional opportunities, since adaptation will then play a key role, another one of Hamilton's signature traits.

From a technical point of view, the last two weekends have been crucial for Ferrari: despite no upgrades on the Sf-25, the team have drastically improved in terms of execution throughout the weekend, finally managing to improve between Friday and Saturday, an aspect they still suffered a lot compared to their direct rivals.

After a very good Friday, where Leclerc topped FP1 and finished 2nd in FP2, the team worked hard overnight to improve the set-up of their car: contrary to some of their rivals, who sorted the mechanical set-up on the longitudinal axle to gain benefits in terms of traction and cornering in the slow speed corners, the team decided to run the car lower and with a very stiff set-up on the lateral axle, to gain in the medium and high speed corners.

This choice was also related to the Mexico City nature: having a very smooth asphalt, teams usually run very aggressive ride heights to gain as much downforce as possible from the Venturi channels, to also recover as much of the downforce lost due to the thinner air conditions as possible.

These set-up changes proved to be fundamental for the weekend: despite McLaren already showing a superior pace in FP3, Ferrari’s drivers demonstrated to be quick ending the session in P2 and P4.

The performance in qualifying, with Leclerc in P2 and Hamilton in P3, was the proof that the team had definitely made a step in terms of execution during the weekend, correctly working on the set-up to give Hamilton and Leclerc a more balanced car between qualifying and the race.

The performance during the race was also extremely satisfying, as both drivers managed to keep their positions until the first stop: Hamilton had to serve his 10-second penalty and consequently lost many places, while Leclerc successfully shifted on the medium tyres and was able to keep Verstappen behind during the final few laps of the race, albeit with the help of a late VSC.

After such a positive performance in the last two races the big question is now if Hamilton is able to score his first podium of the season during the last few rounds: the net improvement in extracting the performance of the car, from both sides (the team and the driver) can allow Hamilton to effectively fight for a podium during the remaining four races of the season.

Technically speaking, Qatar probably represents the biggest opportunity for the 7-time World Champion: due to the need of the SF-25 to be run stiff and lower to the ground to generate the maximum downforce possible, the Lusail International Circuit is probably the circuit that best exploits these characteristics.

Having a look at the remaining races, Brazil requires a higher ride height to prevent excessive plank wear due to the bumpy asphalt (something Ferrari have already suffered from in the first part of the season), while Las Vegas cool temperatures should be more suitable to Mercedes’ W16.

Abu Dhabi could be represent another opportunity for the seven-time world champion, as Ferrari have usually performed quite well on that layout in recent years.

A lot will also depend on the fine-tuning done during the weekend as well as the conditions faced, but the penultimate race of the season could represent Hamilton’s last chance to score a podium during his first season in red.  

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