Lewis Hamilton says brake performance has felt like a ‘lottery’ in 2025
After two Imola GP practice sessions, Hamilton says of Ferrari setup changes — “We roll the dice”
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton said the performance of his brakes has been so inconsistent this season that it’s felt like a “lottery.” The Ferrari driver spent most of the first practice session during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend complaining about the brakes over team radio. Evidentially, he’s still adapting to the Italian outfit’s Brembo brakes, after more than a decade spent driving with the Carbon Industrie version at Mercedes.
“P1 was good,” the seven-time world champion said after practice on Friday. “I was really, really happy with the car in P1. I felt like we had made a step forward and I was feeling really positive. I've literally changed two of the tiniest things that shouldn't have had barely any effect at all. The smallest change we've done this year,” he explained.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images via Getty Images
“We had some brake issues that made a massive difference, so that was a fight with that. That's been quite a big issue all year actually. I've never experienced that before. So that's a new thing for me this year.”
Despite making a slight performance gain, Hamilton said he’s still in the dark about how to find consistency from the brakes.
“It's not the transition, it's the performance…. It’s a lottery. We roll the dice and you put one [set of brakes] on and it works and you put another on and it doesn’t. So I hope tomorrow we figure something out. We're working on it, for sure,” he added.
Head here to stay up to speed with the latest F1 Imola Grand Prix news, expert analysis, photos and videos.
Photos from Emilia Romagna GP - Practice
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Friday
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