Lewis Hamilton struggles with the brakes: "A lottery"

(Motorsport-Total.com) - Lewis Hamilton says his brake performance has been so inconsistent this season that it feels like a "lottery." The Ferrari driver spent much of the first free practice session for the Formula 1 race in Imola ( watch the live ticker here ) complaining about the brakes on the radio.

Apparently, he is still getting used to the Italian team's Brembo brakes after driving with Carbon Industrie components for over a decade at Mercedes.

"The first practice session was good," said the seven-time world champion after the session on Friday. "I was really, really happy with the car in the first session. I felt like we had taken a step forward, and I was feeling very positive."

"I literally changed two tiny things that shouldn't have any effect. The smallest change we've made this year," he explains.

Only: "But then we had brake problems, which made a huge difference. I struggled with that," admits the Ferrari driver. "It's actually been a big issue all year. I've never experienced anything like this before. This is a new experience for me this year."

Despite a small improvement in performance, Hamilton said he still had no clear idea of ​​how to achieve consistency with the brakes.

"It's not the switch, it's the performance. It's a lottery. We're basically rolling the dice: you fit one set and it works, the next one and it doesn't. I hope we figure something out tomorrow. We're definitely working on it," said Hamilton, who finished the first practice session in fifth place.

In the second practice session in the afternoon, the seven-time world champion only finished eleventh, 0.650 seconds behind leader Oscar Piastri.