Lewis Hamilton swapped Mercedes for Ferrari in time for F1 2025, but it is a move which is yet to deliver a fresh spark for the sport\u2019s most successful driver.<\/p>\n
Hamilton<\/a> was soundly beaten by teammate Charles Leclerc in his first Ferrari season, one in which he failed to score a podium throughout, for the first time in his F1 career. Mercedes has been looking to \u201csupport\u201d Hamilton \u201cin our own way\u201d as he struggles with the Ferrari switch, which includes regular flight talks with Toto Wolff.<\/p>\n Mercedes\u2019 Bradley Lord: \u2018Lewis Hamilton can still be a benchmark\u2019<\/p>\n Hamilton ended the season 86 points worse off than Leclerc. There were fleeting highs such as winning the China Sprint, yet lows like the run of four consecutive Q1 exits across Sprint and Grand Prix action to see out the year.<\/p>\n It was ahead of the 2024 season that Hamilton signed on the dotted line for a future switch to Ferrari. His relationship with Mercedes \u2013 where he won six of his record-equalling seven World Championships \u2013 remained in-tact, and continues to be strong.<\/p>\n So much so that Hamilton continues to confide in the team, and his former team boss Toto Wolff, as Wolff\u2019s key ally, Mercedes\u2019 chief communications officer Bradley Lord, recently discussed.<\/p>\n Mercedes tries to \u201csupport\u201d Hamilton in regards to his Ferrari struggles.<\/p>\n \u201cWe feel sorry for him on a human level, because we know how much heart and soul Lewis puts into his work, how committed he is, how much he trains and so on,\u201d Lord is widely reported as having told CHAMP1.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd sometimes every driver has ups and downs, or phases where you just can\u2019t get it all together, and that hits him hard.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we try to support him in our own way, or Toto often travels with him from the races and they talk about it a lot and, yes, we try to encourage him.\u201d<\/p>\n In a Wall Street Journal interview back in the summer, Wolff shed further light on the sound Hamilton relationship which Lord references.<\/p>\n \u201cHe pops up in the office on the weekend! He speaks with the engineers, gets some food.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter many Grand Prix, he travels back with me. So we have the old gang: Valtteri Bottas, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton and me flying from the races.\u201d<\/p>\n Lewis Hamilton vs Charles Leclerc: Final 2025 head-to-head standings<\/p>\n F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates<\/a><\/p>\n F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates<\/a><\/p>\n Still able to call on familiar faces at Mercedes when in need, the Silver Arrows have not written off Hamilton as a competitor.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that Lewis Hamilton can still be a benchmark and possibly will continue to be in this sport,\u201d Lord stated, \u201cand we still believe he can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Hamilton has been unable to challenge for further title honours since his defeat to Max Verstappen in the Abu Dhabi 2021 title decider. Hamilton\u2019s baron spell has coincided with Formula 1\u2019s ground effect era, but the regulations receive a major overhaul in time for F1 2026.<\/p>\n New chassis and engine rules are on the way, and perhaps understandably, Hamilton is not sorry to see the ground effect cars that were go, as he looks ahead to the new era in hope of a return to form.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is not a single thing I will miss about these cars,\u201d he declared when speaking to PlanetF1.com and other accredited media in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n \u201cLiterally, there\u2019s nothing. I haven\u2019t enjoyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n Hamilton and Leclerc will continue to front the Ferrari charge into F1 2026.<\/p>\n Additional reporting by Mat Coch and Thomas Maher<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n