Could Lewis Hamilton actually be right about his future with Ferrari?

Disappointed, troubled, and deeply demoralized. Even for a driver who has historically never been a stranger to strong mood swings and emotional fluctuations, as Lewis Hamilton has consistently been throughout the entirety of his illustrious racing career, the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend at the Hungaroring circuit represented a significant and notable turning point. Even during his many successful years racing for Mercedes, and especially in the most recent challenging and difficult seasons, the British driver had never failed to publicly criticize and ‘flagellate’ himself, openly highlighting mistakes, errors, and shortcomings that had occurred during various race weekends. However, inevitably, under the intense and unforgiving spotlight that comes with being a Ferrari driver, everything is amplified and magnified, and his provocative Saturday remarks—“maybe Ferrari should find another driver”—immediately made headlines and spread rapidly across the world media. Sunday’s extremely poor race, which ended with Lewis Hamilton finishing outside the points-paying positions and even being lapped by several cars, while his teammate Charles Leclerc was engaged in a strong fight for victory for two-thirds of the race distance, did nothing to improve the mood or morale of the number 44 driver. Furthermore, at the end of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton did not even appear before the race stewards to discuss the controversial on-track incident involving Red Bull’s Max Verstappen during the 29th lap of the race.

It does not require the skills of Sherlock Holmes to understand that Lewis Hamilton probably did not truly mean or fully believe the words he said in frustration. A few days we pointed out that the most successful and winningest driver in the history of Formula 1 has a well-known tendency to publicly fall into periods of despair and emotional suffering, only to later rise and emerge from those difficulties stronger and more determined than ever before. Yet, when carefully examining the first fourteen races of this current Formula 1 season, especially when comparing Lewis Hamilton’s performance with that of his teammate Charles Leclerc and also reflecting on his recent past results, it is natural to ask whether—very simply and quite honestly—Lewis Hamilton, with his clearly low morale over the weekend, might in fact be right. Perhaps his decision to transfer and move to Ferrari was a mistake, and maybe it would be best for both parties to consider a respectful and mutual separation for their own good.

Lewis Hamilton’s racing career is nothing short of spectacular and truly speaks for itself: he holds multiple records in terms of race victories, podium finishes, pole positions, and world championship titles won (currently tied on equal terms with Michael Schumacher). He is one of the very few drivers in the long history of this highly competitive sport who has always, absolutely always, been a part of a top-tier, leading Formula 1 team since his very first debut with McLaren. The British driver has continuously lived under the intense spotlight of media and public attention, often by his own deliberate choice, through every moment and phase of his sporting career: experiencing highs and lows, incredible triumphs, and equally painful and bitter disappointments. Now, it might simply be that he has reached the natural end of his competitive journey at the very top level.

His downward performance trajectory, which began after he narrowly lost the world championship title in 2021, is clearly reflected in his results and race outcomes. The only partial exception to this trend was the 2023 Formula 1 season, which, however, was somewhat distorted or ‘doped’ by the overwhelming dominance of Red Bull Racing, a situation that made direct and fair comparisons between other teams less relevant and less indicative of individual driver performance. Additionally, during that 2023 season, George Russell, who was Lewis Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes, made several avoidable mistakes, which probably were part of a painful yet necessary developmental growth process for the younger driver.

The objective reality of the numbers shows clearly that in the 2022 and 2024 seasons, Lewis Hamilton lost the direct on-track comparison with George Russell decisively and convincingly. In general, he has also seemed unable to find the proper feeling, connection, and confidence with the Formula 1 cars designed according to the new technical regulations that came into effect recently and that will continue until the end of this calendar year. Added to this issue, even more than the natural effects of aging, is the fact that Lewis Hamilton switched teams and joined a squad that operates with a completely different working method, philosophy, and approach compared to what he was previously accustomed to. This team, Ferrari, has not won a Constructors’ or Drivers’ Championship in many years, is under enormous pressure and scrutiny from fans and media alike, and—last but not least—already had a very strong and highly competitive driver, Charles Leclerc, who is currently at the peak of his young but impressive career.

All of these factors combined may have been simply too much for a Lewis Hamilton who is currently in a phase of gradual decline in his career. Perhaps things might have gone differently if Lewis Hamilton had found at Ferrari a dominant racing car, one that was clearly faster and more competitive than the rest of the field and also easy and pleasant to drive. In that case, his long-standing habit and experience of fighting consistently at the very top of the grid might have helped Sir Lewis Hamilton to compensate for some of the difficulties he has encountered. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. The Ferrari SF-25 car presents several defects, mechanical problems, and performance gaps—just like most of the other cars on the grid except the McLaren MCL39 with its distinctive papaya color—and very often Charles Leclerc manages to handle and overcome these issues better than Lewis Hamilton.

From Ferrari’s perspective, Lewis Hamilton has undeniably brought enormous attention, hype, and marketing value to the team, but if the mission moving forward is to rely on a technical leader and emotional figurehead to lead the team’s planned revolution for the 2026 Formula 1 regulations, are we truly certain that this role cannot be fulfilled by Charles Leclerc himself? Imagining a Ferrari team fully “led” by Charles Leclerc, with a promising young talent like Oliver Bearman or another emerging driver alongside him, does not seem like an unrealistic or unfeasible project.

There is yet another important factor to consider: there appears to be no convincing reason on the horizon why Lewis Hamilton in the upcoming 2026 season should perform better than he has done this year. On the contrary, it is much easier and more realistic to imagine that the excellent Charles Leclerc of 2025 could maintain his pace and continue to be just as fast, effective, and competitive in the 2026 season. In the world of professional sports, it is not uncommon for an initially promising partnership or pairing to prove to be unsuccessful. Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton searched for each other, tested each other, and ultimately chose one another. However, this particular union is clearly not working as hoped. This is nobody’s fault, and it in no way diminishes Lewis Hamilton’s fantastic and legendary career achievements or the rich and iconic history of Ferrari. Nevertheless, perhaps for the mutual benefit and well-being of both parties, it would be wiser and more respectful to consider a separation, recognizing the respective mistakes and limitations of this partnership rather than insisting on staying together at all costs despite the evident challenges.