Lewis Hamilton arrived in Maranello to a fanfare laid on by Ferrari with the chairman of the Ferrari group giving him a personal tour of the factory which made a statement to those working within the team. Team boss Fred Vasseur then went to the exceptional lengths of laying on an extensive programme which used both drivers entire year’s allowance of testing in previous cars.
The season opener was a disappointment for the seven times champion driver as he trailed home in tenth place, scoring just a single point on debut for the Scuderia. Yet next time out, Hamilton appeared a changed man winning the Sprint in China and holding off what was a much quicker McLaren car with Oscar Piastri behind the wheel.
Hamilton hit out at his critics following the first Sprint win of his career saying: “I’m not really talking back to them or anything like that. It’s just we live in such a strange time in the world that people just love to be negative at any opportunity, even with the smallest things, you love to be negative about it.”
Hamilton claims inferior car to Lelerc
Yet this result on Saturday morning in Shanghai is as good as it got for Hamilton, who was disqualified ia day later in the Grand Prix along with his team mate Charles Leclerc for a breach of the technical regulations.
Lewis was beaten by Leclerc in both Japan and then Bahrain and quickly the optimism from the new Ferrari driver began to evaporate. Having finished just seventh in Suzuka, Hamilton issued a challenge to his team to up their game after what he described as an “underperforming” car across the first three weekends of the year.
“Through the first three races there’s been a bit of a deficit between both sides of the garage on some elements of the car. On my side, underperforming. With what I had, that is the best result I could get,” Lewis told assembled media. He was soon criticised by a number of ex-F1 drivers for implying Ferrari had given him a sub-standard car when compared to Leclerc’s and there were calls for team boss Fred Vasseur to quickly stamp out such dissent.
Expert F1 commentator for RTL in Germany, Christian Danner, criticised Hamilton for his coded remarks adding they weren’t “particularly clever.” The German racer added “Fred Vasseur can’t let the driver say there’s a component on the car that’s hindering my performance,” describing Lewis’ attitude as “snotty,” adding he “complains about this and that.”
‘Unfamiliar brakes’ blames Lewis
In Bahrain Hamilton put down his lack lustre performance to the fact the braking system used by Ferrari is not what he is used to. “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.”
Of course there are significant differences between each of the F1 cars on the grid and Hamilton has used only Mercedes’ power for the entirety off his career before his move to Ferrari. Yet Lewis was beaten in two of the three of his final years at Mercedes by his team mate and having announced his departure from the team he began experimenting with huge setup changes in the early part of 2024.
Five race weekends down and with Hamilton having his worst ever start to a season, Toto Wolff decided the team must regain control of Lewis’ experimentation stating after the Chinese Grand Prix: “Lewis took it on himself,” to make big changes to his car and that is was “a step too far…. we made too many extreme changes after the Sprint, and that made the most important part of the weekend much more challenging,” concluded the Mercedes boss.
After qualifying and finishing the Grand Prix behind his team mate, Hamilton admitted he had been again experimenting with his setup whilst his team mate would spend the practice sessions fine tuning his from the first lap. “On set-up, I’ve been a bit all over the place, a long way from Charles the past two weekends, and then slowly migrated towards him,” the seven times champion admitted after the race in Bahrain.
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Vasseur says Hamilton must improve and be positive
“So I think, if I start the weekend with a more convenient spot, and apply the techniques that I learned this weekend, hopefully we’ll be in a good place,” he concluded.
Fred Vasseur had both words of encouragement and warning for his new star driver and in the coded fashion where “we” is often used as a softer way of saying “him”, the Ferrari boss called on Lewis to up his game.
“We need to improve,” said the Frenchman who then added pointedly “I think it’s good to have Lewis with this mindset to say, ‘OK, I have to improve also myself and to adapt myself to the car.’”
Clearly excuses about different brakes and driving styles required will not cut the mustard with the Ferrari team boss who went on to call for a more positive approach from his driver. “We will work on the car to adapt the car to Lewis, but he also has to do a step. And I think this, between us, is done in a positive way and a very constructive way,” said the Frenchman. In other words stop the negative complaints.
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Ferrari is bigger than “even the best driver”
Hamilton has been around the block enough times to know this coded language used to prevent media hype of divisions within Ferrari, still retains a direct message. Whilst he was top dog at Mercedes, Ferrari is a whole different kettle of fish as Pierro, the son of Enzo said when Sebastian Vettel handed in his notice some year’s ago: “I don’t know how my father would have handled it, but he always said: ‘No employee is bigger than the team, not even the best driver.’”
This mantra from one of the greatest men ever to grace the F1 motor circuits of the world remains ingrained in Maranello culture even today, as many a failed team boss has discovered to their cost. As the fourth best team this year, the Scuderia clearly need to raise their game.
Yet Lewis Hamilton needs to understand his role at Mercedes was very different from the one he has taken on at Ferrari and his criticisms of the team and his car whether valid or not should not be aired in public. Vasseur’s words are more than a note of caution and Ferrari history holds a veiled threat of the sack for Lewis if he fails to comply.
Prost sacked before the end of the season
The great Alain Prost learned this the hard way, after describing his 1991 Ferrari car as “like a horrible truck to drive,” at the penultimate race of the season. Prost never raced for Ferrari again.
Similarly Niki Lauda was put in his place when he was paired against his wishes mid season with Carlos Reutemann – a driver Lauda treated with contempt. The Austrian went on to claim the 1977 title and walked out of the team with two races remaining, but it was Enzo Ferrari who insisted it was his way or the highway.
Hamilton appears not to understand it is traditionally the role of the Italian press to criticise Ferrari, which they do with a ferocity at times almost beyond comprehension. His role is to be grateful Ferrari have deigned to allow him to race in their famous red colours and respect the history of the greatest F1 team ever both in words and action.
It’s not the modern way, but it’s just the way it is. Its the Ferrari way.
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The results from the opening rounds of the 2025 season are not exactly what Red Bull and Max Verstappen were hoping for. With just one win in four Grand Prix the Formula One drivers’ champion is enduring his worst start to a year in terms of victories since the epic season that was 2021.
Then Lewis Hamilton won three of the first four Grand Prix, with Verstappen’s single visit to the top step of the podium coming at the Emilia Romagne race weekend. Of course this was to become an epic season long duel which resulted in the Dutch driver becoming F1 world champion for the first time.
Yet even back in 2021, Max finished second in the three races he failed to win and he remained P2 in drivers’ championship table as the F1 circus headed to the fifth round in Monaco. The current dominant McLaren car now sees both their drivers in the top spots, with Oscar Piastri making up for his costly error in Australia by securing two victories in China and last time out in Bahrain…. READ MORE
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.
I don’t think Hamilton was complaining about the car. The media was asking him why he was behind compared to Leclerc and Hamilton gave his honest opinion.. He has said plenty of times that he needs to do better and adapt to the new car and philosophy of Ferrari. I feel like people are trying to stir up unnecessary drama, and Vasseur has already come out and addressed this narrative with the media in support of Hamilton. It’s still very early in the season, and Hamilton and Sainz are both adjusting to new cars and team philosophy. Yet nobody seems to be saying anything about Sainz struggling in the Williams..