Last Updated on January 1 2026, 10:13 am

Motorsport pundit and former race driver, Tom Coronel, laughs at Hamilton’s poor season, saying that ‘this was supposed to be Ferrari’s saviour.’ – Lewis Hamilton’s first season at Ferrari was supposed to mark the beginning of a new, glorious chapter.

Instead, 2025 became a year to forget for the seven-time world champion and the Scuderia alike. Hamilton was brought in as the man to lead Ferrari back to the top of Formula 1, but he ended the season without a single race win and was consistently outperformed by his teammate, Charles Leclerc. Even more painfully for Ferrari, Leclerc also failed to secure a victory, highlighting the gulf between expectation and reality.

What was billed as one of the most iconic driver transfers in Formula 1 history quickly unravelled into a disappointing campaign. During the F1 Year in Review 2025 at Viaplay, the Dutch analysts, Tom Coronel, and former F1 drivers Giedo van der Garde and Christijan Albers did not hold back in their assessment.

Hamilton successor named, as Ferrari prepare for F1 exit

 

Analysts reacted with disbelief

“Do you really want to talk about Lewis Hamilton?” Giedo van der Garde asked, as a compilation of Hamilton’s challenging moments played on screen, accompanied by dramatic music. Tom Coronel’s reaction is even more blunt: “What the f*ck?” he exclaims, looking back at the British drivers’ season.

He recalls just how euphoric the mood was when Ferrari announced Hamilton’s arrival. Even before the 2024 season had begun, it was clear that Carlos Sainz would lose his seat to make room for the Mercedes legend in 2025.

“He was going to save Italy and Ferrari,” Coronel says sarcastically.

Hamilton’s popularity among the tifosi was undeniable. Images of him posing next to Ferrari icons, including the legendary F40, were seen as symbolic of a new era. But the results never matched the narrative.

“Do you remember that photo of him standing next to the F40?” Coronel asks. ‘That was supposed to be the moment everything changed.”

How the F1 drivers top ten vote compares to team bosses

 

A legendary move that failed to deliver

Van der Garde agrees that the hype surrounding Hamilton’s switch was enormous. “He was welcomed like a god,” recalls the former Formula 1 driver.

On paper, it looked like the perfect match: the most successful driver in the sport’s history joining its most famous team. “It was legendary,” says Van der Garde. “The GOAT moving from Mercedes to Ferrari. The big team. We all thought, ‘This is it.’”

However, Christijan Albers points out that such a move always carries significant risk. Leaving Mercedes, where Hamilton had enjoyed years of dominance, for a completely different environment was a gamble. “Actually, it’s quite dangerous to make a choice like that,” Albers explains. “Because you can only lose.”

Unfortunately for Hamilton, that risk materialised in the worst possible way. “We’ve seen that this season,” adds Albers, referring to a year marked by errors, frustration, and a lack of competitiveness.

Ferrari rumours: Purported Vasseur successor breaks silence on leadership talk

 

A brief highlight that counted for little

Coronel does acknowledge one small bright spot early in the season, though. “Yes, the sprint race in China was very nice. You win that,” he says. “But the praise quickly fades. ‘But, yes, sprints, we don’t count those,” he adds dismissively.

For Coronel, the contrast between expectation and reality remains hard to grasp.

“Lewis wasn’t very positive, was he?” he says. “And this was the saviour for Ferrari: A seven-time world champion. How?” he asks, clearly baffled by how little impact Hamilton ultimately made.

Verstappen: Red Bull announces a ‘very difficult’ split

 

‘The fire was gone!’

All three analysts agree that this version of Hamilton looked nothing like the driver who once dominated the sport.

“I feel like the fire was completely gone,” says Van der Garde.

Coronel highlights the Hungarian Grand Prix as a telling moment. “There you could see that he had lost his mojo,” he explains.

“Fighting with Max. Normally, he would take that on. But this time, he just let him pass. It was as if to say: it almost doesn’t matter anymore.”

Van der Garde’s verdict is even harsher.

“With all due respect, he just wasn’t there anymore,” he says. “Lots of mistakes: He destroyed a front wing on Colapinto in Brazil. And in Las Vegas, he drove straight over the pole during qualifying. Where are you going, man?”

An emotional message from Lambiase’s wife

 

From huge hype to harsh reality

The disappointment is all the greater because the expectations were so high. ‘The hype was massive,” says Albers. “But Lewis didn’t even make it to the podium.”

Coronel concludes with a final barb, drawing a comparison between Hamilton’s struggles and the success of his former team. “Could he have been homesick for Mercedes?” he jokes. “Because Russell was able to win.”

The Big Verstappen Marko Split: ‘Max won’t miss Helmut at Red Bull’

 

NEXT ARTICLE: Ferrari positive engine rumours whilst other components considered “critical”

Ferrari are looking to bounce back strongly in 2026 after a hugely disappointing season saw them winless for the first time in four years. Formula one winless seasons in Maranello are less rare than many may think, with the Scuderia recording their 17th in 75 years.

The longest spell the Italian racing marque went without a win was from 1991-1994 and spanned 58 Grand Prix. The drought was finally ended by driver Gerhard Berger who won his home race in Hockenheim at the 1994 German Grand Prix.

2025 saw the fanfare arrival of Lewis Hamilton’s in January who was afforded a personalised tour of the facilities by group chairman John Elkann. And it was he who was credited in the Italian media with landing the seven tines F1 champion to restore Ferrari’s fortunes.

 

Ferrari suffering longest F1 championship drought

Yet it was not to be and the Scuderia have now extended their drought of constructor championship years to seventeen years, one longer than their previous worst era between 1983-1999. In terms of a drivers’ title, its now eighteen years since Kimi Raikkonen pipped both Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton to the post by a single point. The team’s longest winless streak for this championship is 21 years from 1979 (Jodie Scheckter) to 2000 (Michael Schumacher).

With Formula One’s biggest shakeup of the technical regulations in its history, expectations are high in Maranello for a Ferrari reset. With both new power units and chassis slated for 2026, a change in the pecking order is…READ MORE ON THIS STORY