Lewis Hamilton endured the most challenging season of his 19-year Formula 1 career during his debut year with Scuderia Ferrari in 2025, struggling both on and off the track in Maranello. The British driver’s move to the Italian team, which he had anticipated would rejuvenate his career after two winless seasons with Mercedes in 2022 and 2023, failed to produce the expected results.
The 40-year-old Lewis Hamilton had officially signed with Ferrari in February 2024, seeking a fresh start after leaving Mercedes, where he had secured six of his joint-record seven World Championships over a 12-year period in Brackley. However, the 2025 season quickly proved that the transition was far more complicated than anticipated.
Lewis Hamilton failed to achieve a single Grand Prix podium throughout the 2025 season, marking the first time in his career under the modern F1 points system, introduced in 2010, that he finished a season without a top-three finish. He accumulated a total of 156 points across the 24 rounds, including 21 points scored in the six Sprint races. Despite a small highlight when Hamilton won the F1 Sprint in China from pole position and secured third place in the Miami Sprint, these moments were far outweighed by his struggles, ultimately leading him to finish sixth in the drivers’ standings.
Hamilton’s misjudgment of Ferrari’s culture and Charles Leclerc’s dominance
Upon joining Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton had expressed confidence that the team had “every ingredient” to compete for the World Championship. However, he soon realised that his expectations were overly optimistic. Charles Leclerc, the Monegasque driver, finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the drivers’ championship with 242 points, leaving Ferrari fourth in the constructors’ standings for 2025. Hamilton’s belief that his success and “immortality” at Mercedes would automatically inspire change in Maranello proved to be a miscalculation.
Lewis Hamilton attempted to guide Ferrari by submitting detailed documents outlining changes and improvements based on his experience at Mercedes. Drawing from his successful years in Brackley, where he dominated with precise processes and highly structured team methods, the Briton expected Ferrari to embrace a similar approach. However, multiple observers, including former F1 driver Christian Danner, noted that these expectations were unrealistic.
Danner explained that Hamilton had assumed his proven greatness at Mercedes would allow him to influence Ferrari in the same way, but he underestimated the distinct culture of the Italian team. Danner highlighted that even legends like Alain Prost, Fernando Alonso, and Sebastian Vettel had struggled to implement English-style processes at Maranello, and Lewis Hamilton faced the same obstacle in 2025.
Comparing Ferrari to Mercedes: Hamilton’s frustrations
Lewis Hamilton’s frustrations were amplified by Ferrari’s long title drought. The team has not secured a drivers’ championship since Kimi Raikkonen’s 2007 title, which narrowly denied Hamilton, then a rookie with McLaren, by just one point. Ferrari has also been waiting for another constructors’ title since 2008, when Lewis Hamilton won his first championship with McLaren. With 84 of his record 105 Grand Prix victories, 78 of his record 104 pole positions, and 154 of his 202 podiums achieved with Mercedes between 2013 and 2024, the Briton was acutely aware of the areas where Ferrari needed improvement.
Nevertheless, his attempts to enforce significant changes within the Scuderia were met with mixed reactions. Some within Ferrari reportedly resented the documents and proposals he submitted, seeing them as intrusive. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton struggled to convince the team of his perspective, particularly as Charles Leclerc outperformed him throughout the season, asserting himself as Ferrari’s leading driver in 2025. According to former World Champion Damon Hill, Lewis Hamilton found it challenging to leverage his experience and authority effectively in a team dominated by Italian traditions and a younger teammate’s rising form.
In summary, Lewis Hamilton’s first season at Ferrari was a stark contrast to his years of dominance with Mercedes. Despite his proven record and extensive experience, his 2025 campaign highlighted the difficulties of adapting to Ferrari’s unique team culture, while Charles Leclerc emerged as the clear leader within the Scuderia.
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