Lewis Hamilton’s debut season with Ferrari in 2025 is turning out to be far from the fairytale many had envisioned when the seven-time world champion announced his dramatic departure from Mercedes.
The British driver had high hopes that a new chapter in Maranello would reignite his career following a disappointing 2024 Formula 1 campaign, where he finished seventh overall — the lowest in his long and illustrious Formula 1 tenure. His transfer to Ferrari, hailed as one of the most significant driver moves in the sport’s modern era, immediately raised expectations. Fans and pundits alike saw Hamilton as the man capable of ending Ferrari’s title drought, which stretches all the way back to 2008.
After his first visit to the Ferrari factory in Maranello, Lewis Hamilton had been optimistic, believing the Scuderia were in a position to compete for victories and championships. However, as the 2025 season has unfolded, that confidence has not translated into results on track. Ten races in, and Hamilton’s hopes of contending for either the Drivers’ or Constructors’ Championships have all but vanished.
Approaching the Austrian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton finds himself trailing current championship leader Oscar Piastri by a staggering 119 points. With only three podium finishes across the campaign so far, Ferrari risk falling more than 200 points behind McLaren in the Constructors’ standings. Performance struggles with the SF-25 have persisted, with the car consistently ranking as only the fourth-fastest in the field — a worrying statistic for a team aiming to challenge for titles.
Behind the scenes, Ferrari is reportedly working hard to resolve their technical issues, but progress has been slow. Meanwhile, Hamilton stands on the brink of an unwanted milestone: if he fails to reach the podium at the Red Bull Ring, it will mark 13 consecutive Grands Prix without a top-three finish — the longest such streak of his F1 career.
While Hamilton continues to seek his first Sunday podium of the season, it has been teammate Charles Leclerc who has delivered Ferrari’s only highlights in 2025. The Monegasque driver has secured three podiums — third places in Jeddah and Barcelona and a runner-up finish in Monaco. With seven seasons under his belt at Maranello, Charles Leclerc holds a clear advantage in familiarity and comfort within the team.
The intra-team battle has tilted heavily in Charles Leclerc’s favour. He has outqualified Hamilton in seven of the ten rounds and finished ahead in eight of the nine races where they both finished. Their sole mutual DNF came in China, where both drivers were disqualified after the main race — although Hamilton had managed to give Ferrari a rare boost by winning the Sprint event earlier that weekend.
Sprint sessions have provided Hamilton with some brief flashes of success this year. He dominated the field in Shanghai and secured a third-place finish in Miami. However, Ferrari’s inability to carry that form into the main events on Sunday has left Lewis Hamilton podiumless in traditional race conditions — a painful outcome for a driver of his calibre.
The 40-year-old’s last appearance on the podium dates back to the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, where he finished second behind then-teammate George Russell. Never in his 19-year Formula 1 career has Lewis Hamilton endured more than 12 consecutive races without a podium. If Ferrari’s struggles persist in Spielberg, that streak could be broken in unfortunate fashion.
As pressure builds, key voices in the F1 paddock have weighed in on Lewis Hamilton’s situation. The Brit has reportedly been pushing hard for upgrades to the SF-25 and has expressed dissatisfaction with Ferrari’s internal processes, which he believes are too restrictive compared to what he was used to at Mercedes.
Former Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas has pointed to two major challenges the Briton is facing at Ferrari: inconsistent driveability and the difficulty of adapting to the team’s specific engine braking characteristics. Bottas believes Lewis Hamilton is still in the process of adjusting to an unpredictable car and new team dynamics.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, while no longer working directly with Lewis Hamilton, remains supportive. Wolff has suggested that Lewis Hamilton is still in a transition phase and has not yet had the time to fully adapt to Ferrari’s working culture — but stressed that it would be unwise to count him out.
Elsewhere, Juan Pablo Montoya has offered a more sobering take. The Colombian believes that if Ferrari fails to deliver a competitive package under the new 2026 regulations, Hamilton may walk away from Formula 1 entirely — potentially as soon as 2026 or 2027. With the Briton struggling under the current ground effect regulations, there is hope that the upcoming changes could help him return to form before it’s too late.
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