McLaren racing driver Lando Norris believes Lewis Hamilton will struggle to adapt in the early stages of his Ferrari career in the 2025 Formula 1 season.
The seven-time World Champion moves to the Scuderia for 2025 after 12 seasons with Mercedes.
Hamilton finished 12th in the opening Free Practice session at the Australian Grand Prix.
The British driver was off the pace as he contended with getting to grips with his new car for this season.
Meanwhile, Norris topped the timing sheets in the first session at Albert Park, showcasing McLaren’s competitiveness from last season.
The 25-year-old was pipped by the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in the second practice session, as Hamilton improved up into fifth place.
When discussing this year’s title fight, Norris explained how he feels it will take time for Hamilton to adjust at Ferrari before he gets going.
“I don’t think I’m just going to be racing against Max this year,” he told select media including Motorsport Week.
“I think it’s going to be Charles and Lewis, it’s going to be Oscar [Piastri].
“It’s going to be both Red Bull drivers and Mercedes drivers too.
“So I look forward to all of the battles, and of course, the more wars that can be on track between others, the better for us.
“But I don’t expect that to happen too much, I think Lewis will still take a little time to settle in.
“That doesn’t mean he won’t be quick from the beginning, but there’s always things in the first few races.
“Especially when you change team and you’ve been with one team for such a long time, it takes a bit of time to get going.
“But I’m sure Lewis knows what those things are, and he’ll iron them out as quickly as he can.”
Norris ready to take another crack at battling Verstappen in 2025
Norris, a four-time race winner last season, was unable to dethrone Max Verstappen in 2024, as the Dutchman sealed the title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Colliding on several occasions, Verstappen got the best of his frenemy in the wheel-to-wheel battles.
However, Norris says he has learnt a lot from last year as to where he stands in comparison to the Red Bull driver.
“I learned a lot of things last year; I think I learned two big things,” he added.
“One was, I clearly wasn’t quite ready to deliver on everything that I needed to deliver on, from a racing point of view, and that’s just because racing against Max is a unique situation.
“You don’t get to experience it in any other way of life until you really get to that point.
“I think had it been a battle against different drivers, I don’t know if it would have been the same.
“It probably wouldn’t have been as hard, and I think that’s probably a fair assessment because I do think Max will be the hardest guy to race against.
“He’s always going to be the one who’s going to be most willing to push the limits and push the boundaries like he did.
“So I learned that aspect of Max, and I also learned where I stood in that situation, which was not at the right level.
“I learned from those things, and I think already in the last couple of races, I improved on a lot of those situations.
“But every situation is different in Formula 1 – so even if some of them happen again, it’s not always a guarantee I’ll make the right decision and Max will make the right decision, or any other driver will make the right decision.
“So it’s a tough one because you don’t make those decisions now.
“You have to make them on track half a second before it happens, and you don’t have a lot of time to think about the whole situation.
“So I’m just excited to have another crack at it and see what I can do and go up against any driver.”
- Harry Whitfield
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