Lewis Hamilton’s maiden season with Ferrari hasn’t gone exactly to plan. The Italian outfit hoped that the addition of Hamilton would bring them even closer to McLaren, but that hasn’t been the case thus far.
Ferrari remains in second place in the constructors’ championship, 268 points behind McLaren in first. They have no real hope of catching them, and both of their drivers are sitting outside the top four of the driver standings. Before the Hungarian Grand Prix, Hamilton told the media that it has been a gruelling season and he’s ready for a break.
Lewis Hamilton’s ready for the summer break
13 races down and just one more to go before Formula 1 takes a much-needed four-week break. Drivers have been full go since the end of February, and after a stressful start to his first year in red, Lewis Hamilton is ready to get away and recharge.
“This has definitely been the most intense [season], I would say, just from a work perspective, integrating into a new culture, into a new team,” Hamilton told the media. “It’s not gone smoothly in all areas. It’s been a real battle.
“I definitely need to get away and recharge, be around the kids, laugh, let go. I’m sure there’ll be some tears at some point and I think that’s really healthy.”
While Ferrari had hopes of winning the championship in 2025, those goals quickly went out the window. This season is now about getting Hamilton integrated with the team and ready to roll out the gates in 2026, so they can hopefully compete for both championships next year.
Hamilton’s struggles with Ferrari
Hamilton’s first season in red didn’t get off to a great start. He finished P10 in Australia before getting disqualified in China. He did win the China sprint after starting on pole, but when it came to feature races, they couldn’t quite get it right.
Lewis Hamilton Frustrated After Ferrari Debut at Australian GP
Over the next few races, Hamilton scored decent points, but there seemed to be constant issues between him and his race engineer over the radio. The worst of which came in Monaco when Hamilton asked his engineer if he was upset with him after the race, to which he got no response.
After Monaco, things seemed to be working themselves out. He finished P6 or better in each of the next four races, but Spa presented more challenges for Hamilton and the team. Hamilton was eliminated in the first part of both qualifying sessions, but was able to make up a heap of places in the race. However, an under-fueling issue halted his charge early.
Needless to say, it’s been a rough start to his Ferrari career, but the summer break will give him a chance to step away and relax for a month before returning for the Dutch Grand Prix.
