Lewis Hamilton was the most despondent he has ever been since joining Ferrari at the Hungarian Grand Prix, as he suffered a horrible weekend.
Before the season had started, Hamilton claimed he was invigorated by his move to Ferrari. He felt it was the fresh start he needed after a difficult end to his stint at Mercedes, but his feelings are now very much the same as in 2024, when he recorded his worst finish in a championship.
Hamilton is yet to score a podium for the Maranello outfit, excluding Sprint races. The seven-time champion has struggled to adapt to the SF-25 as he sits sixth in the standings with 109 points.
Position Drivers’ Championship PointsPts 1 284 2 275 3 187 4 172 5 151 6 109 7 64 8 54 9 37 10 27
Ferrari have brought new updates to the rear suspension, which Hamilton has been calling for, but even that has not improved his form, as he suffered a double Q1 elimination at Spa. The Brit did recover to finish P7, but teammate Charles Leclerc adapted ‘immediately’ to the upgrades to finish third.
The Hungarian Grand Prix was another disaster for the 40-year-old as he was eliminated in Q2 while Leclerc claimed Ferrari’s first pole position in 2025. Hamilton was completely dejected after qualifying, even stating that the team should swap drivers.
He finished where he started at the Hungarian GP as he could only manage 12th. Hamilton has now matched the lowest finish of a four-time champion at the Hungaroring, set by Alain Prost in 1993.
Photo by Clive Rose/Getty ImagesJacques Villeneuve thinks Lewis Hamilton is ‘now realising’ how different things are at Ferrari
Hamilton insisted that he still loves racing in his post-race interview, but his disappointment was clear to see. Hamilton apologised to Ferrari over the radio, saying that he was losing them points with his performances.
Ferrari will be worried about holding on to second in the constructors’ championship in 2025, with Mercedes just 24 points behind. They will want to see Hamilton improve his form, but Jacques Villeneuve thinks the Brit is ‘now realising’ how different things are at Maranello.
Position Constructors’ Standings PointsPts 1 559 2 260 3 236 4 194 5 70 6 52 7 51 8 45 9 35 10 20
Speaking with La Gazzetta dello Sport, the 1997 F1 champion has been surprised by how ‘demoralised’ Hamilton has been. But he notes that he has only been used to working with Mercedes engines during his F1 career until now.
“Lewis comes from a completely different background in Formula 1 and has always worked with the English and German methods in the past,” he said.
“Now he’s realising how different everything is at Ferrari. It’s certainly surprising to see him so demoralised. There always seems to be a bit of confusion at Ferrari in the decisions and communications, even over the radio, and this isn’t helping his adaptation.
Asked whether Hamilton should be given time, Villeneuve added: “Next year will be the real showdown with Leclerc. This car wasn’t designed for Hamilton, and with the new regulations, everything will be reset in 2026.
“However, there was a lot of attention and expectations surrounding his arrival, and it’s undeniable that the first period has undoubtedly been disappointing.”
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Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images
The summer break could not come any sooner for Ferrari, as a huge reset is needed for their star driver. Peter Windsor says Hamilton needs to be ‘hyper-focused’ in the second half of the season.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali thinks Hamilton will be ‘very strong’ after the summer break as he still has confidence in his ability. But the Brit’s comments at the Hungarian GP are hugely worrying, and other key figures have much less positive predictions.
Damon Hill has warned Hamilton ‘it gets harder’ after seeing how downhearted he was in Hungary. Martin Brundle does not think Hamilton will stay another two seasons at Ferrari, with his contract running out at the end of 2026, but there is the option of a further year.
Bernie Ecclestone would replace Hamilton with Isack Hadjar if he decided to leave Ferrari. The 40-year-old will be banking on the 2026 F1 regulations to provide him with a fast car, but if they cannot, he may call time on his incredible career.