Sky Sports Formula 1 pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz has cast serious doubt over the way Lewis Hamilton approached his first season with Ferrari, a campaign that ultimately became the most difficult and least successful year of the seven-time world champion’s illustrious Formula 1 career.
For the first time since making his F1 debut in 2007, Lewis Hamilton completed an entire championship season without stepping onto a Grand Prix podium. While the Briton did manage to secure a sprint race victory and an additional sprint podium, those isolated results did little to disguise the scale of the struggles he faced across the traditional race weekends. Over a full season, the lack of Sunday success marked a stark contrast to his previous spells with McLaren and Mercedes.
The transition from Mercedes to Ferrari, following more than a decade embedded in the Brackley-based organisation, proved far more complex than many expected. Lewis Hamilton found himself adapting not only to a very different car philosophy, but also to a distinct working culture and operational structure within the Scuderia. Despite his vast experience at championship-winning teams, that knowledge did not immediately translate into competitive performance at Maranello.
Ted Kravitz’s assessment suggests that Lewis Hamilton arrived at Ferrari believing his accumulated expertise could act as a catalyst for change. The expectation was that lessons learned during title-winning eras at Mercedes, combined with his early career at McLaren, would allow him to influence Ferrari’s internal processes and accelerate a return to the front of the grid. However, the reality unfolded very differently.
Instead of reshaping Ferrari around his methods, Lewis Hamilton encountered resistance, both subtle and overt. As the season progressed, it became increasingly clear that the balance of power within the team had not shifted in the way the Briton may have anticipated. That tension became public late in the year, when Ferrari chairman John Elkann openly criticised both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, a move that underlined the pressure building at the top of the organisation.
The criticism aimed at Charles Leclerc was particularly significant, given his long-standing role at Ferrari and his deep integration within the team. Charles Leclerc has spent years working through Ferrari’s systems, language, and technical philosophy, while Lewis Hamilton was still in the early stages of understanding how decisions were made behind the scenes. The contrast between the two drivers only intensified scrutiny on the Briton’s adaptation process.
Much of Ferrari’s 2025 campaign gradually shifted away from short-term results and towards long-term preparation for the 2026 Formula 1 regulations. Both Lewis Hamilton and the team were forced to accept that meaningful progress during the season would be limited, as resources were increasingly redirected toward the next-generation car. That strategic pivot further reduced opportunities for Lewis Hamilton to leave an immediate mark.
According to Ted Kravitz’s analysis on the Sky F1 Podcast, Lewis Hamilton had initially believed he could transfer the operational discipline and winning habits developed during his years at Mercedes and McLaren, making targeted adjustments that would quickly push Ferrari back into regular contention. He also felt confident that he had strong backing from senior leadership, particularly from John Elkann and team principal Fred Vasseur.
However, that sense of unconditional support appeared to fade as the season entered its final phase. The F1 analyst explained that the public comments made by John Elkann in early autumn fundamentally altered the landscape for Lewis Hamilton, forcing him into a reassessment of his position within the team. Heading into the winter, Lewis Hamilton’s focus shifted toward incremental improvements rather than immediate transformation.
The long-term nature of Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari contract now plays a crucial role in shaping his future. Ferrari offered him a longer commitment than Mercedes, along with the promise of a project capable of delivering race victories over time. That broader vision remains the foundation of his decision to join the Scuderia, even if the first chapter proved deeply challenging.
Ted Kravitz believes Lewis Hamilton is unlikely to walk away, instead pinning his hopes on the regulatory reset in 2026. The ambition remains clear: to rebuild momentum, reassert himself as a team leader, and ultimately prove that he can match or surpass Charles Leclerc on equal terms in a new era of Formula 1. Whether Ferrari can provide the platform for that resurgence remains one of the sport’s most compelling questions.
