Lewis Hamilton’s debut season with Ferrari has not gone as well as he and the team had hoped. Since joining the team this year, he has not scored a single podium finish. After the Hungarian GP, Ferrari’s team principal, Fred Vasseur, both him and Hamilton underestimated that challenge they will be facing this year.
When the 7-time champion announced that he would be joining Ferrari from the 2025 seaosn, there was a lot of hyoe and expectations from fans. Some felt that Hamilton will make an impact right from the start and could probably fight for the Championship this year. But then, reality hit.
Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s brutal reality check
The end of the Hungarian Grand Prix marked the start of the summer break for the F1 teams and drivers. Having scored no podiums and falling behind his teammate, Lewis Hamilton had reached a new low, calling himself ‘Useless’ and stating that Ferrari should replace him.
While Ferrari’s team principal, Fred Vasseur, cleared the air by saying that Hamilton will not be going anywhere, he did admit that both he and Hamilton underestimated the challenge they faced this season.
Fred Vasseur Publicly Defends Lewis Hamilton After Nightmare Qualifying at Hungarian GP
“We underestimated the challenge Hamilton faced at the start of the season.”
He then added, “After all, he came from a twenty-year career in the Mercedes environment, and it’s not easy to change all that. Both Lewis and I underestimated what that change meant, from the culture to the people.”
Switching cars and engines in Formula 1 is not as simple as buying a new road car. In F1, the drivers are expected to push their cars to the limit every single second. They can only do this when they have complete confidence in the machine they are sitting in.
Having spent his entire racing career with Mercedes engines, Hamilton will take some time to adjust to Ferrari’s car. He needs time to explore the limits of the SF-25 and understand what he needs to do to push it to the limit.
Hamilton knows where he needs to focus on
As soon as Lewis Hamilton signed his contract with Ferrari, he made his intentions very clear. He wanted to win a title with Ferrari. This remains to be his goal despite his statements in Hungary.
This year, McLaren has more or less won the Constructors’ Championship. They are leading Ferrari by 299 points after the Hungarian GP. With the major regulation haul coming in 2026, all the teams have already shifted focus to next year’s cars, meaning that we won’t see any major upgrades for any of the teams during the 2nd half of the season.
Lewis Hamilton Is Already Reshaping Ferrari Behind the Scenes With Bold Demands for 2026 Car
A few weeks back, ahead of the Belgian GP, Hamilton stated that he is heavily involved in the development of Ferrari’s 2026 car. He claimed that the new car will have his ‘DNA’ in it. He’s already started exchanging documents with Ferrari’s engineer to help with the design.
Do you think Ferrari will be able to build a strong car under the new regulations with Lewis Hamilton’s help? Put down your thoughts in the comments below.
