Esteban Gutierrez defends Lewis Hamilton: “Ferrari is full of passion, but it’s organized chaos”. Former Ferrari driver Esteban Gutierrez defends Lewis Hamilton.

One of Ferrari’s former drivers has stepped in to defend Lewis Hamilton, shedding light on the inner workings of the Scuderia in Formula 1. “An organized chaos,” is how Esteban Gutierrez described Ferrari while supporting Hamilton during his debut season with the Prancing Horse. The former test and third driver for the Maranello team is not surprised by the challenges faced by the seven-time world champion, but he remains confident that 2025 will serve as a valuable year of experience ahead of what’s to come.

Lewis Hamilton’s recent results don’t fully reflect the progress he has made. Since the summer break, the British driver has repeatedly stated that he now feels more confident in the Ferrari SF-25, managing to extract more of its potential. In Mexico, he could have battled for a podium finish behind Charles Leclerc if not for the penalty he received during his duel with Max Verstappen.

Similarly, at Austin, the seven-time champion finished fourth in both the Sprint Race and the Sunday Grand Prix. These encouraging performances suggest that Lewis Hamilton is gradually adapting to Ferrari’s unique characteristics, and there’s hope that next year’s new generation of cars will better suit his driving style. Still, some believe that Lewis Hamilton’s first year in red “has not been as bad as it might seem.”

Esteban Gutierrez: “Everyone wants to drive for Ferrari, but it’s different from British teams”

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Esteban Gutierrez — who served as Ferrari’s test and reserve driver in 2015 — discussed the differences between the Italian and British Formula 1 teams. “I’ve been there, and I understand the differences very well. I’ll say it clearly: at Ferrari there’s an incredible amount of passion, but it’s also organized chaos,” he said.

“I don’t mean that in a bad way; I genuinely love Ferrari,” continued the Mexican. “I mean, we all love it. I think every driver, deep down, dreams of being a Ferrari driver. Winning with Ferrari is a much bigger challenge than winning with any other team. That’s why all the champions who haven’t won with Ferrari but come here to try, often struggle. It’s not easy.”

Esteban Gutierrez added, “It seems like [Hamilton] felt more comfortable with the car this weekend, from what he said. In my opinion, his performances this year haven’t been as bad as they might look. I hope he can use this season as a learning experience and take another step forward in 2026.” – the former Ferrari reserve driver concluded following the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend.