Even though Vettel gave him some advice, Hamilton was upset and short with answers during the most recent press conference for the Qatar Grand Prix this weekend. The stakes were very high from the start. But Lewis Hamilton’s first season driving the most famous Formula 1 car has been a tough one. Problems came one after the other, and every week there was always something disappointing. Some people, including Lewis himself, even doubted whether the seven-time world champion could do the job anymore.
And what about him? There is not much left of the Hamilton of his early days at the famous Scuderia Ferrari. He seemed happy and excited when he first visited Maranello and drove around Fiorano, but now he seems frustrated, empty and disappointed. Now the show seems over, and it almost certainly is, as sources within the factory at Marenello are fully anticipating Lewis Hamilton to exit the team. Join the discussion below
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A season that was not as good as expected
Lewis Hamilton’s first year with Ferrari was never supposed to look like this. The seven-time world champion arrived in Maranello with everyone excited, his fans, the Italian media and the people at Ferrari.
But as Corriere della Sera said before the Qatar Grand Prix, “no one thought Lewis Hamilton would have such problems in his first season at Ferrari.” The numbers now show this to be true. If he doesn’t have a big improvement in Qatar, Hamilton might end up having the worst season of his career.
As the scrutiny increased, Hamilton himself kept his responses short. At the Lusail paddock, he said he wasn’t going to think about how the season was going. “No,” he said firmly, insisting that he was focused solely on the future. When asked more about it, he only said, “There’s not much to say. The results speak for themselves.”
He didn’t sound defensive; he sounded tired. He’d had a tough year. He was done for good.
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A great moment in a hard campaign
For Ferrari fans, the most memorable moment was the Chinese sprint race victory. It was a reminder of the Hamilton they thought they were getting: precise, calm, and very efficient under pressure. But that one win, which came early in the year, was the only good thing about it. Since then, Hamilton has lost his position in the race, and the team has not been able to give him a car that can win.
A driver who has won so many times in the past has found it hard to change and is now fighting for less important points instead of being in the running for the championship. It seems unlikely that Hamilton will win an eighth world title, not because he has forgotten how to win, but because his car is not yet as good as the cars of the drivers who are at the top of the sport. Join the discussion below
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The Ferrari Pattern: A Familiar Story
Sebastian Vettel, watching from retirement, admitted he recognised the pattern. “The longer it takes, the harder it gets,” he said when asked about Hamilton’s wait for his 106th victory.
Vettel himself was drawn to the allure of Ferrari, and like Hamilton, he arrived with the ambition of rebuilding the team into champions. He had some great moments, like when he won 14 times and came second twice, but he never managed to win the title he was aiming for.
Fernando Alonso experienced a similar journey. After Michael Schumacher stopped being the best and winning titles in 2005 and 2006, he also joined Ferrari, where people expected him to do very well. He almost won in 2010 and 2012, but even he couldn’t win after Räikkönen’s somewhat fortuitous title win in 2007.
The last Ferrari world champion is Kimi Räikkönen, getting on for twenty years ago now. This fact is something that the team will always have to think about when they make big decisions. Hamilton is just the latest top driver trying to become a Ferrari driver.
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Vettel’s thoughts on the matter: Culture, Communication, and Adaptation
Vettel has said one reason why Hamilton’s change might have been harder than expected. He spoke on the “Beyond the Grid” podcast and talked about how he got used to driving a Ferrari.
Vettel is German but works in Italy and competes in English-speaking sports. He says the cultural differences are significant.
“If you don’t speak a language very well, you can still manage, but do you really understand the people? Do you understand the culture?” he asked.
He said he was not criticising Hamilton or suggesting British drivers find it hard to adapt, many teams are based in England, after all, and English is still the main language used in Formula 1. But at Ferrari, he said that there is more to the job than just doing your best.
The team represents Italy’s identity, passion and history. To be successful, you need to be able to deal with technical demands as well as the subtleties of communication, tradition and expectations. Even world champions have to learn how to deal with this.
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Hamilton set to leave Ferrari?
People who work at Ferrari now think that Lewis Hamilton is planning to leave the team after just one difficult season.
Important people at the factory have said that the atmosphere around the seven-time world champion is “detached” and “already halfway out the door”. His nervous and short performance at the press conference in Qatar on Thursday made people think even more that he was guilty.
What started as a dream team, Hamilton in the red car he once dreamed of, has turned into a season of growing frustration, mechanical problems and a personal disappointment the Scuderia had not expected. People on the team say that the newcomer, who was full of energy, was joking around Fiorano in pre-season. Now, he walks the corridors of Maranello looking like he has given up, and he is sure that he can’t make this project better.
The people who know about Ferrari have said that the discussions that were happening in private have changed. They used to talk about how to help Lewis do well. Now they talk about how to get ready for a time after Lewis. Should he leave early, it will be typically Italian in its drama.
It’s about more than just engines and red paint
Ferrari in Formula 1 is about more than just red racing cars. It’s about emotions, memories, and more. It’s a myth that has its roots in Italy, full of passion and emotion.
“If you don’t speak a language very well, you can still manage, but do you really understand the people? Do you understand the culture?” asked Vettel, who himself regrets not having learned the language better. That’s exactly why he gave Hamilton some advice when he switched teams: “Learn the language, learn it really, really well.” But even in English, Hamilton is finding it hard to express his thoughts this season. And even more importantly, he doesn’t want to.
NEXT ARTICLE – Aston Martin CEO role for Horner
As the Formula One teams prepare for the Qatar Grand Prix, Aston Martin made a huge announcement which stunned the paddock. Andy Cowell who was promoted to the role of team principal and CEO for the 2025 season would be replaced by Adrian Newey next year.
Rumours of Cowell getting the sack gathered pace in Las Vegas given his protest at Adrian Newey’s dismissal of a number of staff from the team’s design department. This raised the elephant in the room as to who was actually in charge of the F1 team with Cowell believing his authority had been undermined.
Andy Cowell who is credited as the brains behind the all conquering Mercedes 2014 V6 hybrid power unit will be redeployed at Aston Martin to oversea the integration of the Honda power units along with other partnerships the team maintains.
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Billionaire team owner Lawrence Stroll issued a statement: “Andy Cowell has been a great leader this year. He’s focused on building a world-class team and getting them to work well together, as well as fostering a culture that puts the race car back at the heart of what we do.
“This leadership change is a mutual decision we have reached in the interest of the team. We all look forward to continuing working with him in his new capacity.”
Aston Martin have now had four team principals in four years in Otmar Szafnauer, Mike Krack, Andy Cowell and now Adrian Newey. The bombshell stunned many F1 analysts given that Newey is somewhat camera shy and avoids publicity at all costs.
Yet the role of the team principal is to deal with many media demands across and F1 weekend and to give impromptu live interviews for the many networks which broadcast Formula One… READ MORE
Alex Stanton is a Formula 1 journalist at TJ13 with a focus on the financial and commercial dynamics that underpin the sport. Alex contributes reporting and analysis on team ownership structures, sponsorship trends, and the evolving business model of Formula 1.
At TJ13, Alex covers topics including manufacturer investment, cost cap implications, and the strategic direction of teams navigating an increasingly complex financial environment. Alex’s work often examines how commercial decisions translate into on-track performance and long-term competitiveness.
With a strong interest in the intersection of sport and business, Alex provides context around Formula 1’s global growth, including media rights, expansion markets, and manufacturer influence.
Alex’s reporting aims to explain the financial realities behind headline stories, helping readers understand how money, governance, and strategy shape the competitive order in Formula 1.
