Lewis Hamilton may be 66 points behind Charles Leclerc in the standings, but he is the Ferrari driver which the team must listen to for the future.<\/p>\n
That is the opinion of ex-Ferrari stalwart Francesco Cigarini, who claims that the Michael Schumacher era can be recreated with Lewis Hamilton<\/a>, but only if Ferrari \u201clisten to him\u201d on how the car is developed. Cigarini claims that this would benefit Leclerc as well.<\/p>\n Ferrari urged to let Lewis Hamilton steer<\/p>\n Hamilton has struggled thus far to live up to the hype at Ferrari. He arrived at Maranello as Formula 1\u2019s most successful driver, but is yet to add to his haul of 202 podiums. Teammate Leclerc has realised that achievement seven times in F1 2025, as is 66 points better off than Hamilton in the standings<\/a>.<\/p>\n It has been an underwhelming campaign for Ferrari as a team overall, with the ambitions of a title challenge downgraded to facing going the whole season without a grand prix win.<\/p>\n Cigarini has seen the glory days at Ferrari. He was a mechanic at the time when Michael Schumacher spearheaded the dream team which secured six consecutive Constructors\u2019 titles between 1999-05, while Schumacher won five Drivers\u2019 titles in a row.<\/p>\n In a Fanpage.it interview, Cigarini spoke of \u201ctotal trust between driver and team\u201d underpinning that golden era, \u201cbased on the knowledge that everyone was working towards a common goal.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone took responsibility for their own role, and if they lost, they lost together.\u201d<\/p>\n At Ferrari, Schumacher became a seven-time world champion and cemented his legacy as a legend of the team and sport. Now, Ferrari has the only other seven-time champion in their team in the form of Hamilton.<\/p>\n Cigarini is convinced that Hamilton can be Ferrari\u2019s Michael Schumacher 2.0, but only if he is allowed to shape the team\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n \u201cHamilton brings knowledge and organisation typical of British teams, which are highly structured and different from Ferrari,\u201d said Cigarini.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, something similar can be rebuilt with Lewis: signing a multiple world champion was the right choice, not only for marketing reasons but also for the experience he brings.<\/p>\n \u201cThe question is how much weight the team really gives to what he says. If he suggests something and is not listened to because \u2018Leclerc is faster\u2019, it becomes a vicious circle: the driver does not feel part of the technical management.\u201d<\/p>\n Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc head-to-head in F1 2025<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates<\/a><\/p>\n