Lewis Hamilton will have been hoping that his fresh start with Ferrari would yield more success down the road, but 2025 has been one of his most testing seasons to date.
The Briton currently sits sixth in the drivers’ championship, and just endured one of his toughest weekends of the season at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Even worse, he was expected to be in the picture for a podium after Friday’s practice sessions.
Hamilton’s focus and energy is best saved for a resurgence with Ferrari in 2026, but if they fail to find any improvements, big questions will need to be asked. Will team principal Fred Vasseur be able to justify keeping him for much longer?
Although Charles Leclerc thinks Hamilton has brought ‘magic’ to Ferrari, it hasn’t been enough to bring any victories home with them so far. Jamie Chadwick found a ‘silver lining’ for Hamilton in Baku and thinks that he matched up well against his teammate all weekend.
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton makes worrying ‘I struggled’ admission during final Azerbaijan GP radio message
Lewis Hamilton told Ferrari are still facing a ‘temperature’ issue which plagued his final years at Mercedes
Hamilton pleaded with Ferrari for ‘help’ in Baku, as he battled with the rear of his car. His tyres were overheating, and a change in conditions compared to Friday made life difficult for both Scuderia drivers. He’s familiar with that from his time at Mercedes.
Vasseur disagrees with Hamilton about his woes, and there will have been some strain placed on their relationship as a result of their performance recently. The fans are remaining patient for now, but Christian Danner believes that a recurrence of a problem Hamilton suffered at Mercedes is an issue.
In colder conditions, the Silver Arrows car would burst into life in 2024, particularly at races in Belgium and Las Vegas. In Baku, a similar theme was followed with Ferrari’s car.
‘What problems Lewis had again was different,” he said. “So they both say that they didn’t recognise their car. Now you can say, well, guys, you have to look and see what’s different, because it’s the temperature, the asphalt temperature has gone down.
“It was still relatively summery warm on Friday, I think, with 38 degrees asphalt temperature, and 10 or more than 10 degrees less the following day and windy.”
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton admits Ferrari decision made 2025 ‘less exciting’ than his McLaren and Mercedes days
How Lewis Hamilton could achieve one feat for the first time in his Formula 1 career in 2025
With seven races to go in the Formula 1 season, it looks more and more likely that Hamilton might go an entire season without a podium for the first time in his career.
In fact, the lowest number of podiums he has ever earned in 18 seasons of work prior to 2025 is five. Finishing five of the next seven races on the rostrum feels unlikely.
At this stage, it looks like he’ll set a career-low for trophies, making the 2026 F1 regulations even sweeter when they eventually do arrive.
While Ferrari have made a breakthrough, the rest of this season is as much about making sure that they’re as prepared as possible for the future, without completely giving up on second place in this year’s constructors’ championship.