“External influences” have resulted in the Ferrari team making poor decisions under pressure for the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc over the years.
That is the claim of Neil Martin, Ferrari’s former head of strategy, who has insisted that the team’s “state-of-the-art” strategy tools are not the problem.
Lewis Hamilton finds new ally after Ferrari ‘pressure’ admission
Without a World Championship of any kind since 2008, Ferrari has developed a reputation for poor strategy decisions over recent years with Leclerc’s title challenge in 2022 collapsing partly as a result of a number of questionable decisions by the pit wall.
Hamilton has also found frustration in Ferrari’s strategy calls in F1 2025, having several tense exchanges with race engineer Riccardo Adami over team radio.
The seven-time World Champion revealed at July’s Belgian Grand Prix that he has submitted a series of “documents” to the team in the hope of getting his Ferrari career back on track after a difficult start to the F1 2025 season.
Lewis Hamilton vs Charles Leclerc: Ferrari head-to-head scores for F1 2025
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates
Hamilton explained that his willingness to “go the extra mile” is driven by his refusal to follow in the footsteps of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, established champions who failed to win the title with Ferrari.
It emerged during the recent summer break that Hamilton’s proposals relate not only to tweaks to the car, but also changes to Ferrari’s working methods, communication between different departments at Maranello and the execution of race weekends.
Martin joined Ferrari from Red Bull in January 2011 as part of a new-look race operations team after a poor strategy decision cost Alonso the title at the 2010 finale in Abu Dhabi, leaving Maranello in 2015.
And the former strategy chief has insisted that Ferrari’s tools are not the issue, with the team lacking “clear” decision making in high-pressure scenarios.
Asked if deeper factors are behind the team’s history of poor strategy calls, Martin told Champions Speakers in association with PlanetF1.com: “That’s a really interesting question on the basis that I worked for Ferrari for around five years.
“I can confirm that when I left, their strategy tools were state of the art. I think what happens is just having the tools is not good enough.
“You need communication which is good, you need engineers who can make clear, crisp decisions based on that information.
“And I think other factors, such as the pressure of the entire nation for Ferrari to win, and all sorts of external influences.
“Under that pressure I think people probably are making decisions that I certainly wouldn’t make.
“[That’s] probably the nice way to phrase it.”
More on Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari from PlanetF1.com
Speaking at the recent Dutch Grand Prix, Hamilton conceded that the “pressure” of life at Ferrari has affected his enjoyment of this season, calling for both himself and the team to find pleasure in the second half of F1 2025.
He told PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher and other publications at Monza: “I feel determined to and motivated to, yes.
“We’re going to work hard, keep our heads down, try to change a few things in our approach and start to enjoy ourselves.
“It’s been so much pressure in this first half of the season and it’s not been the most enjoyable.
“So I think just remembering that we love what we do, we’re all in this together and I’m trying to have some fun.
“I think, ultimately, just to get on top of everything, the amount of work we have, all the new partners, the amount of [photo] shoots we’ve done, getting integrated into a new team – and it’s a big, big team.
“It’s also the biggest brand in our sport as well. So with a combination of all those different things, it’s been a lot.
“That’s the reason I got into the sport – it was fun for me.
“And I think for anyone, whatever career you’re in, if you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, then why are you doing it?
“There can often be so much noise you can lose sight of what’s really, really important.
“So that’s what I’m saying: I just really want to focus on getting back to that enjoyment.
“I’ve joined the team that I’ve always dreamed of driving for and and there’s been so much noise around that it’s clouded us from getting to enjoy it.
“So now it’s about moving those things aside and just getting back to focusing on the pure love of what we do.”
Read next: Why Adrian Newey’s private Alonso talks are so important for Aston Martin