Lewis Hamilton has now gone five races without a top-five finish and his hopes of reaching the podium in 2025 are fading.
The Briton has just seven opportunities to earn his first Ferrari rostrum before time expires on his debut campaign with them. Sixth place in the drivers’ championship is not what he would have been dreaming of, but there’s hope that a foundation has been built for next season.
The 2026 F1 regulations are going to be the most sweeping set of changes in modern history, with a complete overhaul of virtually every aspect of the cars. Hamilton will be hoping that the changes suit his driving style and inspire at least one more title challenge in the future.
Mercedes have ‘realised’ why they couldn’t give Hamilton a title-winning car in his final few years with them, and understand that their tools were not up to scratch. Hamilton has brought ‘magic’ from Mercedes to Ferrari, and there’s hope that nearly 12 months on from his arrival, it will start to take effect.
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Lewis Hamilton will be relieved to hear Ferrari’s wind ‘explanation’ for recent F1 struggles
Hamilton pleaded with Ferrari for ‘help’ at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, after spiralling as the weekend progressed. Friday suggested that he might have a chance of winning, before Saturday delivered another chilling dose of reality.
It wasn’t just his failure to progress from Q2 that was confusing in Baku, as he offered little of note during Sunday’s race either. Whatever direction Ferrari decided was best to go in with their setup after third practice on Saturday, massively backfired.
According to Auto Motor und Sport, Ferrari’s ‘explanation’ for their lack of pace is that they were affected by the change in wind. As the speed intensified, their car struggled to cope, leaving their drivers with little to do other than battle through the sessions.
If there’s a silver lining to the situation, it will be the relief that their car wasn’t at fault for their lack of pace. They fell victim to the conditions, but it’s still something that they will want to prevent from happening in the future, particularly in 2026.
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How Lewis Hamilton is set to break a 15-year feat with Ferrari in 2025
Formula 1 introduced a new points system back in 2010, aimed at distributing points to competitors more fairly.
The change worked, and it feels like the championship has been running it forever, but for Hamilton, there’s a danger related to it in 2025.
Unless he averages fifth place at every race between now and the final, he will set a new record for the lowest number of points scored since the points system was changed in 2010.
His previous low was 189, set with Mercedes back in 2013, but there were five fewer races on the calendar back then. It just helps put into perspective how difficult 2025 has been for the seven-time champion.