Since making his high-profile move from the Mercedes Formula One Team to Scuderia Ferrari ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 season, seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton has encountered a deeply rooted culture within the iconic Italian racing team—one that appears to resist rapid transformation and innovation. This resistance to internal change has sparked a wave of commentary from analysts and insiders across the Formula 1 paddock, with many now advocating for the legendary British driver to be given a more authoritative voice in guiding the future direction and development of Ferrari’s operations.
Lewis Hamilton, widely recognised as the most statistically successful driver in the history of Formula 1, boasts an extraordinary record that includes seven FIA Formula One World Drivers’ Championship titles and a staggering total of 105 Grand Prix race victories. Meanwhile, Scuderia Ferrari holds the distinction of being the most decorated and historic team in the sport, with an impressive tally of 16 Constructors’ Championship titles and 248 Grand Prix wins. However, despite this illustrious past, the Maranello-based outfit continues to endure a prolonged and painful championship drought—one that now spans 17 years without a title. That barren stretch is all but guaranteed to extend to 18 years by the conclusion of the current 2025 Formula 1 season, as the team has fallen significantly behind the dominant McLaren Formula 1 Team in the standings.
At the halfway point of the championship calendar, Ferrari finds itself trailing McLaren by an alarming 238 points in the FIA Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship. On the individual driver side, Charles Leclerc is 115 points behind the current Drivers’ Championship leader, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who has emerged as one of the defining talents of the season.
Former Formula 1 driver and current motorsport analyst Ralf Schumacher has weighed in on Lewis Hamilton’s current situation at Ferrari. He believes the British driver has now come to terms with the fact that he must make the necessary adjustments to his driving style to suit the characteristics of the SF-25, rather than waiting for the Ferrari technical department to tailor the car to his individual preferences. This adaptive approach appears to be bearing fruit, as Lewis Hamilton has achieved a notable level of consistency in recent race weekends, securing six consecutive top-six finishes and showing improved synergy with the machinery.
Sky Sports Formula 1 presenter and anchor Simon Lazenby provided fresh insight into Lewis Hamilton’s evolving role within the Ferrari setup during a discussion on the post-race edition of The F1 Show, broadcast after the 2025 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. During the segment, Simon Lazenby shared details of a revealing conversation he had with Jock Clear, Ferrari’s highly respected senior performance engineer. Clear also serves as the personal driver coach and performance mentor to Charles Leclerc, giving him a uniquely close perspective on both Ferrari drivers.
Jock Clear, a veteran engineer with decades of Formula 1 experience, previously worked alongside Lewis Hamilton during his formative years at Mercedes. As such, Clear is intimately familiar with the Briton’s strengths as a communicator and technical collaborator. According to Lazenby, Clear has been strongly urging the Ferrari leadership to give serious consideration to Hamilton’s feedback, which he believes is an invaluable asset to the Scuderia as they aim to close the gap to their championship rivals.
Simon Lazenby relayed that Jock Clear has been effusive in his praise of Lewis Hamilton’s technical debriefs, especially regarding the handling dynamics and performance characteristics of Ferrari’s 2025 challenger, the SF-25. Clear believes Hamilton’s insights into balance, traction, tyre degradation, and overall race strategy have already begun to shape some of the team’s recent upgrades. Moreover, it is expected that the British driver’s input will have a far more significant impact on the design and development of Ferrari’s 2026 Formula 1 car—Hamilton’s first full-season car developed with his feedback from the outset.
Jock Clear is believed to be one of the most vocal and persistent advocates within the Ferrari garage, urging colleagues to capitalise on the wealth of knowledge and experience that Lewis Hamilton brings to the team. He reportedly views Hamilton’s feedback as second to none, underscoring that there is a fundamental reason why the 40-year-old driver has secured seven world titles and cemented his legacy in the sport. According to Clear, Hamilton’s ability to diagnose problems, communicate solutions, and understand car dynamics makes him an irreplaceable asset during Ferrari’s transitional phase.
As the 2025 season progresses, attention has also turned to Ferrari’s broader technical issues—some of which may be undermining their competitiveness more than originally understood. Throughout the paddock, speculation continues to swirl about the real reasons behind Ferrari’s fluctuating form and inability to mount a sustained challenge for race victories and pole positions.
One theory attributes part of the team’s struggles to a bold conceptual overhaul of the SF-25 approved by team principal Fred Vasseur over the winter break. This involved a significant change in front suspension geometry and philosophy. While the change was intended to improve front-end grip and reduce tyre degradation, some insiders believe the shift may have been too aggressive and introduced a new set of complications in terms of handling consistency and balance.
In addition, the departure of long-time Ferrari technical director Enrico Cardile may have further exacerbated the situation. Cardile was considered the architect behind the current SF-25 project, and his unexpected move to the Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team—announced exactly one year ago—left a significant vacuum within Ferrari’s technical structure. As a result, Fred Vasseur has been forced to serve as interim technical director, juggling his leadership duties with direct involvement in engineering decisions. This dual role may have compromised the team’s cohesion and technical clarity during a critical period of development.
Further rumours in the paddock suggest that Ferrari could be facing a mechanical issue related to the fuel pump system on the SF-25. According to several unofficial reports, the suspected problem could be costing Ferrari valuable straight-line speed and overall performance during the final stages of qualifying—particularly in Q3, when every millisecond matters. Notably, Ferrari remains the only team among the current top four constructors—alongside McLaren, Red Bull Racing, and Mercedes, that has not yet secured a single pole position this season, highlighting a recurring deficit in outright one-lap pace.
Both team principal Fred Vasseur and Charles Leclerc have maintained a cautious and tight-lipped stance when pressed about the specific nature of the performance problems afflicting the SF-25. However, it has recently been revealed that one of the core issues may be tied to a malfunction within the power steering system. This flaw appears to affect the drivers’ ability to receive adequate steering feedback in high-speed corners—one of the most critical areas for driver confidence and precision. Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are believed to be struggling to extract maximum performance from the car when this lack of steering response occurs, especially during qualifying sessions when aerodynamic load is at its peak.
Leave a Reply