Hamilton shoots Ferrari down in disheartening blow: 'Don't anticipate any changes'

In his debut season for Ferrari, the seven-time world champion has been unable to find the podium in a Grand Prix for the first time in his career.

Despite a promising one-two finish for Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc during FP2 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Brit does not believe that the pace will be carried into Sunday.

"I don’t think there's any track that we'll be able to beat the McLarens, or maybe even the Red Bull," Hamilton bluntly stated on Thursday in Baku.

"But I have been able to max out the performance of the car recently, which has been a surprise. It’s been able to give the car load. Maybe we can score some good points," concluded the 40-year-old.

Since making his debut at McLaren in 2007, Hamilton has never missed out on a Grand Prix podium during a season. However, with just eight races remaining in 2025, that streak could come to an end.

The move to the Scuderia has not been as successful as many believed or predicted, with the seven-time champion sitting on just 117 points after 16 races, only good enough for P6 in the championship, sitting 46 points away from teammate Charles Leclerc.

The only bright sparks for the Brit came earlier in the season, with a sprint race win in the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race, along with a P3 finish in the sprint race at the Miami Grand Prix. Since then, a podium place has been a fair distance away.

However, a promising performance in FP2 in Baku that saw Hamilton lead the way next to Leclerc has given the Brit and Ferrari a potential boost going into qualifying around the Baku City Circuit.

"I would say it's been just practice days. Yeah, I would say that let's not go too far on that. I just want to say that I really am grateful for everyone continuing to push the support I've been getting back from everyone at the factory," the Brit stated after Friday's running.