Lewis Hamilton is a seven times Formula One world champion, but his list of excuses as to why he has won just two Grand Prix in over three years keeps on growing. At Mercedes he demanded ‘heads roll’ after the team apparently refused to listen to his engineering genius over how to design the car.
Even so he was beaten 19-4 in qualifying in the car by George Russel last season, and his rookie replacement seems at home in the W16. Kimi Antonelli who replaced Lewis at Mercedes has proven even in the hands of a first year F1 graduate that the Mercedes F1 car is not deficient as he leads the British driver by five points and even Lewis’ non world champion team mate is proving the Ferrari is more capable than when in the hands of the former Mercedes’ driver.
Of course a driver switching teams faces a number of challenges in terms of acclimatisation, but Fred Vasseur at Ferraro has done his level best to ensure his star recruit’s induction has been as full and complete as possible. Ferrari used all their 2025 allowance of testing of previous cars allowance even before the season began to make Lewis feel comfortable.
Mercedes era of uber dominance over
Yet once again the once uber dominant force in F1 appears to be a shadow of his former self when compared to the years Mercedes won a record eight consecutive team titles. The bottom line is this new generation of ground effect cars has stymied the once all conquering F1 hero as it did Daniel Ricciardo who is now out of the sport.
But the marketing power of one of the biggest F1 driver brands in history now sees Lewis driving for the iconic Ferrari F1 team. It would be acceptable for Lewis to admit he was 3-1 down on qualifying to his junior team mate Charles Leclerc and 4-0 down in terms of Grand Prix finishes because he is ‘getting on a bit’ and no longer has the huge advantage of dominant machinery underneath him.
Hamilton has been marmite during his F1 carer with the media and fans, he is either loved or rejected and for both there is good reason. Yet even in his McLaren days the petulance of Lewis when things don’t go his way was a feature of his public presentation. At the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix he was whipped by team mate Jenson Button in qualifying, and resorted to an unprecedented public tantrum where he posted on social media the team’s telemetry in an attempt to justify his poor performance.
Button went on to win the race handsomely, while Hamilton was humiliated and forced to take down his indiscreet tweet. Then there was the ‘because I is black’ attempt to call racism on the F1 race stewards decision to penalise him in six of the first seven races in 2011. And ever since then Hamilton persists in pitching himself as the poor black guy who came from nothing which is as far from the truth as the Sun from the moon.https://thejudge13.com/2025/04/11/sainz-strike-one-on-route-to-an-f1-ban/
Hamilton super privileged from early age
Ron Dennis and McLaren picked up his sponsorship when he was 12 years old and gave him the best karting kit that money could buy. This continued throughout his junior career and resulted in his F1 debut back in 2007. Lewis did impress giving the reigning world champion, Fernando Alonso, as his team mate more than a run for his money as the pair tied for second in the F1 drivers title that year.
Yet his divisive nature was evident in his rookie year as he played the McLaren team off against his team mate and the result was Alonso decided enough was enough and left McLaren after just ice year.
Having realised he was unable to compete with George Russell, Hamilton pulled strings with the global president of Ferrari to give him a new start wit the Scuderian F1 team. The team principal Fred Vasseur had no wish to sign the fading glory that was Hamilton, having stated weeks earlier his current line up of Sainz and Leclerc was his preferred team mates going forward.
Now Lewis has been welcomed to Ferrari who themselves are faded glory from the pomp of the Schumacher years. Just one constructors’ and drivers title has come their way since 2007 and president John Elkann believed lewis could make the difference to the Italian F1 squad.
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How long ‘Mr. Ferrari’ will put up with the latest string of excuses from Hamilton since joining the team isn unknown, but hs goal to inject the spirit of a seven times world champion into his beloved F1 racing entity has so far failed and each week Lewis’ merely offers a string of excuses as to why he is being bested by his team mate.
In Japan he claimed that he had a faulty component on his car, which Leclerc did not suffer and in Bahrain the reasons for his lack lustre performance was the brakes Ferrari are using. “I am using engine braking which we never ever used in the previous years. Much different brakes. I am on Brembos and [now] I have been on CIs for the last 15 years or so. This car requires a much, much different driving style. I am adjusting to that. I think I am slowly getting it into my head. Getting the balance right.”
This was of course true of the Mercedes cars since 2022, where Hamilton won just two Grand Prix in three years. He failed to adapt to the driving style required for the ground effect cars, which his junior team mate George Russell aced.
“I have been driving a certain style and certain way with the same team for such a long time. I have moved to a new car and it requires such a different driving style and settings,” said Lewis in Bahrain. Yet he conveniently moots the fact this has been the case with Mercedes for three years as evidenced by his lack of results against George Russell.
Ferrari to blame over weather
Hamilton also blamed his setup for the weekend in the middle east, suggesting Leclercx starts the weekend with a car balance which he gradually refines. Hamilton by way of contrast is making huge changes in setup from session to session he admits, though he recognised in Bahrain, “I’ve got to do a better job through the weekend. I know I can and I will.”
One of Lewis most bizarre excuses of the year to date cane in Australia when after the rain affected race he claimed: “Then all of a sudden it started raining and I didn’t know, no one told me that it was raining more elsewhere, and all of a sudden I was faced with it around the rest of the track. It was a bit of an opportunity missed, but I’m glad I kept it on-track.”
Lets be honest, rain predications are not an exact science in F1 and the teams and drivers must react to the actual rainfall, not predictions, when it comes.
Next time out in China, Hamilton again hit out at the media after crossing the line behind team mate Charles Leclerc. “To build long-term success with the team takes time and that’s what I’m trying to do. I’m not trying to jump-start it or get ahead of myself. I’m just taking my time to build with this great team. There’s so much potential in this team.”
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Maybe rather than presenting himself as the saviour of Ferrari, Lewis should concentrate on beating his team mate. Something he has done far less frequently since 2021 and his cursed defeat by Max Veratappen.
In all likelihood, Hamilton will fade into ignominy as Russell and now Leclerc prove he was not the driver he was when beating ‘wing man’ Valtteri Bottas in the most dominant F1 Mercedes F1 cars ever seen.
Mercedes were forced to stop Hamilton making ‘wild setup changes’ early in 2024 and now by his own self admission he must follow the Leclerc approach and attempt fine tuning throughout the weekend rather than making the seismic shifts in the balance of the Ferrari car he is currently doing.
Sky F1 expert driver analysts Karun Chandhock was brutal in his assessment of the former F1 chanson in Bahrain. He said, “Hamilton’s definitely not fast anymore” self-assessment after Qatar 2024 qualifying was a comment that stood out in particular. I heard his comments today and he sounded completely like he was on the floor,” Chandhok said of Hamilton, “If I closed my eyes, it was like watching him wear the Mercedes uniform last year.”
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Hamilton is rolling out the same excuses as when he was being hammered by Russell at Mercedes, is the point Chandhok is making, but the question is what is the straw that will break the Camels back? By continuing in F1 since his defeat by Verstappen in 2021, Lewis has diluted his awesome career F1 starts.
His win rate (29.07%) has collapsed to below that of relative newly Max Verstappen (30.05%) and he has almost a negotiable chance of claiming the record eight drivers’ F1 championship this year after just four races. There is the vague hope Ferrari will ace the all new 2026 car design and power unit regulations, but given their last championship in F1 was some 18 years ago, this is a forlorn expectation at best.
Its surely all about the money now for Hamilton, who clearly is no longer the best in the F1 world. The fatigue of having to face the media weekend in and out, explaining why he his again slower than his team mate, will surely at some point break the camels back and enough will be enough even for the once dominant force in F1.
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Ferrari’s set-up gamble begins to pay off as Charles Leclerc secures front row spot in Bahrain – Ferrari’s quest for performance has rarely lacked effort, but in Bahrain the reward has finally matched the effort. Charles Leclerc will start Sunday’s Grand Prix on the front row, alongside McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, following a grid penalty for Mercedes’ George Russell.
While the result may appear to be luck in the Monegasque’s favour, Leclerc insists it’s the culmination of relentless experimentation and hard work behind the scenes. After weeks of intense setup testing and iterative development, both car and driver are beginning to find a rhythm – just in time for what could be a pivotal stretch of the 2025 Formula 1 season… READ MORE ON THIS STORY
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
Lewis Hamilton is a has been and a whining crybaby who never takes responsibility for his driver errors…its always the car’s fault, never his. Whatever! Go away already.
Have to agree with you 100% Refreshing to see I’m not the only one who thinks Hamilton is a winger and a has been . The stats are there for all to see but yet when you draw attention to the sad state of Hamilton’s performances the woke brigade have chest pains.