Amid the growing turbulence surrounding Ferrari in recent weeks, a new suspicion has begun to emerge: the possibility that the team may have taken issue with the detailed suggestions Lewis Hamilton submitted to Maranello.
The atmosphere inside Ferrari has been tense ever since John Elkann’s recent public remarks, in which he urged his drivers to “talk less and focus more on driving.” According to widespread speculation, the comment was primarily directed at Lewis Hamilton. Now, an additional layer has surfaced: members of the team may have felt offended by some of the improvement proposals the British driver shared with them.
Lewis Hamilton has undeniably struggled with the SF-25 – a car that was flawed from the start – but at the same time, his first season in red has not lived up to expectations. Apart from winning the Chinese Sprint race, the seven-time world champion has not stepped onto the podium once, setting an unfortunate new record for the most races without a podium for a Ferrari newcomer.
The Brazilian Grand Prix only worsened the situation, adding further pressure to a team already rattled by John Elkann’s controversial statements. According to Sky Sports UK reporter Ted Kravitz, those remarks may be partly rooted in internal dissatisfaction surrounding the much-discussed documents Hamilton reportedly prepared, outlining a series of improvements he believed Ferrari should implement.
“Fred is not stupid, Fred is an excellent team principal and I can’t think of anyone better for the job. I don’t know if Fred has full freedom to do whatever he wants,” Ted Kravitz said on The F1 Show. “Think about the documents Hamilton drafted. A sort of project based on everything he learned at McLaren, his 12 years at Mercedes, and the many world championships he won.”
Ted Kravitz then questioned the possible reaction inside Maranello. “Did Ferrari feel insulted by those documents? Did they think, ‘Well, thanks a lot, but you just drive the car’? If Lewis is writing all these documents – a kind of winning blueprint for what it takes to be a top-level team – how many times does Ferrari need to hear it, and why aren’t they already doing it?”
The journalist also emphasized that Lewis Hamilton’s situation is not unprecedented. “If we go back to Fernando Alonso, who left Ferrari because he said he didn’t see a team ready or capable of winning consistently – how many years ago was that? It was 2014,” he added.
“Sebastian arrived, but he didn’t manage to change things. He had a lot of fun as a Ferrari driver and won a few races. Charles Leclerc has won some races too. Then came the engine controversy at the end of 2019. That was settled in 2020, when Ferrari reached an agreement to close a grey area in the regulations.”
Ted Kravitz concluded by pointing out Ferrari’s long-standing difficulties. “Since then, they’ve won a few races here and there, but they haven’t been able to win a championship. This isn’t a new problem – it goes back to Fernando Alonso, doesn’t it?” With those words, Ted Kravitz added even more uncertainty to a Ferrari team already surrounded by questions.
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