Lewis Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari in System 1 continues to boost questions and spark intense debate amongst followers, pundits, and analysts alike. After 17 Grands Prix of the 2025 season, the British seven-time world champion has accrued probably the most unlucky information within the latest historical past of the Scuderia: he’s at the moment the driving force with the very best variety of races with out securing a single podium end. This troubling situation has naturally led many to wonder if the choice to exchange Carlos Sainz with Lewis Hamilton was really probably the most appropriate alternative for the crew’s long-term aggressive targets. Moreover, there are rising discussions about whether or not the substantial monetary funding that Ferrari made to convey Lewis Hamilton to Maranello is genuinely yielding the returns anticipated by way of efficiency, outcomes, and total crew stability.
A difficult file and a tough adaptation
A transparent and candid perspective on Lewis Hamilton’s state of affairs has been provided by Guenther Steiner, the previous crew principal of Haas System 1 crew, who has spoken brazenly and with out restraint concerning the British driver’s sophisticated and sometimes irritating season with Ferrari. Although Steiner now not holds an official function throughout the System 1 paddock, his expertise and perception permit him to observe the sequence very carefully. Steiner didn’t hesitate to touch upon Lewis Hamilton’s evident struggles to adapt to the Ferrari SF-25, a automotive with very totally different traits in comparison with the equipment Hamilton was accustomed to throughout his time with Mercedes. The seven-time world champion continues to expertise a tough interval on the wheel of the enduring purple automotive, dealing with challenges that threat turning this into probably the most disappointing seasons of his illustrious profession.
The Ferrari SF-25, with its distinct technical and aerodynamic traits, doesn’t appear to enrich Lewis Hamilton’s pure driving fashion, making it tough for him to constantly extract the utmost efficiency from the automotive. The mix of excessive expectations, historic strain, and a car that behaves otherwise from his earlier vehicles has created a situation through which the British driver is visibly struggling. In truth, Lewis Hamilton is at the moment navigating what might turn out to be his worst season since his debut in System 1 in 2007, with sporadic flashes of his standard brilliance overshadowed by frequent difficulties in attaining constant outcomes. This lack of continuity, coupled with the challenges in totally understanding and adapting to the distinctive nuances of the Ferrari SF-25, has contributed to mounting frustration each throughout the crew and for Lewis Hamilton personally, as he seeks to search out the rhythm and confidence that outlined his championship-winning years.
Guenther Steiner is unequivocal in his evaluation: throughout the Ferrari crew, there are some people who, even when quietly, are starting to remorse the choice to rent Lewis Hamilton. Based on Steiner, crew administration is unlikely ever to confess such remorse publicly, as acknowledging a mistake of this magnitude could be tantamount to brazenly conceding {that a} strategic error was made. Whereas that is clearly the private opinion of the previous Haas crew boss, it’s a viewpoint that would undoubtedly be debated for months with out reaching any definitive conclusion that satisfies all events concerned. The dialogue round whether or not Lewis Hamilton was the best alternative for Ferrari is advanced, touching not solely on the sporting facets but in addition on monetary, technical, and organizational issues.
Carlos Sainz might need been the higher alternative, leaving apart monetary issues
Steiner argues that the Italian crew didn’t make the optimum determination in changing Carlos Sainz with Lewis Hamilton. The Spanish driver had been performing reliably, offering consistency, stability, and cohesion throughout the Ferrari crew construction. Carlos Sainz’s presence provided a stage of predictability that allowed Ferrari engineers and crew principals to focus totally on automotive growth and efficiency optimization, with out having to navigate the extra challenges that accompany integrating a worldwide famous person like Lewis Hamilton into a longtime crew dynamic.
With Carlos Sainz remaining within the cockpit, Ferrari would possible have prevented the exterior distractions and pressures which have arisen on account of Lewis Hamilton’s present struggles. This could have allowed the crew to pay attention completely on bettering the automotive’s total efficiency and competitiveness on monitor. The Spaniard had already constructed a robust rapport with Ferrari’s technical employees and administration, and his consistency meant that the crew might depend on regular outcomes whereas persevering with to refine their technical package deal, notably in areas equivalent to aerodynamic effectivity, suspension steadiness, and tire administration methods.
When Carlos Sainz was behind the wheel, the working relationship with Ferrari could possibly be described as well-established and dependable. He was a driver able to delivering constant and predictable outcomes, contributing to a steady crew setting. Had the Spaniard stayed, lots of the challenges at the moment related to Lewis Hamilton’s underwhelming efficiency might not have surfaced. Based on Steiner, this has sophisticated Ferrari’s potential to focus totally on the event of the automotive, as extra assets and a spotlight are being allotted to understanding why Lewis Hamilton struggles with the SF-25’s dealing with traits.
Past the sporting implications, there’s a notable financial side to think about. The signing of Lewis Hamilton concerned a major monetary dedication from Ferrari, encompassing not solely a really excessive wage but in addition all the assist construction required to handle a driver of his stature. This consists of logistical coordination, specialised engineering consideration, and a broad vary of economic and organizational tasks related to a world-class driver. Steiner observes that, at current, this monetary outlay doesn’t look like delivering the anticipated returns by way of championship factors, podium finishes, or crew morale.
Lewis Hamilton: the final of Ferrari’s issues
Along with on-track efficiency challenges and the monetary implications of his contract, the arrival of Lewis Hamilton has reportedly created inside tensions throughout the Ferrari crew, in response to Guenther Steiner. Managing a driver of Lewis Hamilton’s extraordinary caliber requires extra assets, devoted time, and targeted consideration from each the engineering employees and crew management. These calls for are layered on prime of the already intense strain concerned in growing a extremely aggressive System 1 automotive, creating a posh setting through which crew cohesion and efficiency may be examined. The need to handle a famous person driver, whereas concurrently striving to optimize the SF-25’s technical efficiency, provides a singular layer of complexity that dangers destabilizing the broader technical and sporting setting throughout the crew.
Nonetheless, it is very important acknowledge that not all of Steiner’s statements are completely correct or reflective of the total context. Ferrari itself bears important accountability on this state of affairs, summarized primarily in two key areas. The primary and most easy problem is expounded to the expectations set for Lewis Hamilton: the crew promised him a top-tier, extremely aggressive automotive able to preventing for the World Championship. This automotive was anticipated to be straightforward to drive, conscious of his enter, and totally aligned along with his driving fashion. Sadly, the truth has been markedly totally different, with the SF-25 presenting dealing with challenges and inconsistencies which have prevented Hamilton from totally exploiting his legendary driving expertise.
The second space of accountability lies with Ferrari’s technical crew, which has struggled to adapt the automotive to Lewis Hamilton’s particular necessities. The engineers haven’t but totally optimized the automotive to go well with his driving fashion, nor have they offered him with the constant assist and suggestions essential to carry out at his most potential. This shortfall has solely been partially addressed in the course of the season, with glimpses of enchancment seen solely intermittently. Even Ferrari crew principal Frederic Vasseur just lately acknowledged that the crew had underestimated the challenges related to integrating Lewis Hamilton into the prevailing squad, highlighting the complexity of managing such a high-profile driver whereas sustaining give attention to automotive growth and race efficiency.
Finally, any driver, no matter their innate expertise and previous achievements, will wrestle if they don’t really feel a correct reference to their automotive. Lewis Hamilton requires a complete program through which he feels totally built-in, knowledgeable, and concerned in all facets of growth—a stage of involvement that continues to be removed from the present actuality at Ferrari. On this context, monetary issues are secondary: Lewis Hamilton is arguably the least of Ferrari’s issues, given the Scuderia’s sturdy industrial place. Each season, Ferrari receives substantial curiosity from sponsors desperate to affiliate with the crew’s iconic vehicles, impartial of on-track outcomes. Because of this the crew’s industrial well being is just not contingent upon Hamilton’s present efficiency.
Hamilton is, in actuality, the final of Ferrari’s issues. If, hypothetically, the SF-25 have been a flawless, dominant automotive and Lewis Hamilton have been struggling to extract efficiency on account of talent limitations, the dialog could be markedly totally different. Till such a situation arises, the main target ought to stay on the quite a few technical, organizational, and strategic challenges that Ferrari continues to face—points that go effectively past any particular person driver and mirror the broader complexities of managing a contemporary System 1 crew in a extremely aggressive and continuously evolving setting.
The Italian crew, with its wealthy historical past and unmatched status in System 1, continues to face a number of areas requiring enchancment. These embody refining automotive growth methods, enhancing aerodynamic effectivity, optimizing tire administration, and bettering inside communication between drivers, engineers, and administration. Addressing these points successfully can be vital not just for Lewis Hamilton’s efficiency but in addition for the long-term competitiveness of Ferrari within the 2026 World Championship season. Till these broader challenges are efficiently managed, discussions about particular person driver efficiency, together with that of Lewis Hamilton, ought to be thought-about throughout the context of the crew’s total structural and strategic limitations.
Sep 30, 2025
Let different Scuderia Followers find out about us
