In the end, it was Ferrari that moved closer to Lewis Hamilton rather than the other way around. And once that happened, the seven-time world champion finally began to look like himself again.
Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari: who changed whom?
At one stage, the situation had clearly become a standoff. On one side stood Lewis Hamilton, pushing relentlessly for change. On the other was a Ferrari organization that often seemed reluctant to move away from long-established methods, with a mindset that could be summarized as: “We’ve always done it this way.” The results, however, were not arriving.
Lewis Hamilton suffered through the difficulties, absorbed the criticism and even found himself questioning his own abilities as performances failed to match the extraordinary standards established throughout his Formula 1 career. Yet he refused to give up. His personal motto, “Still I Rise,” and the inspiration he has long drawn from Muhammad Ali helped him continue fighting through one of the most challenging periods of his career.
The British driver openly admitted that there were moments of doubt along the way.
“There were moments when I thought: ‘Damn, maybe it’s true that at some point you lose something…’” Lewis Hamilton confessed.
It would have been easy to walk away. It would have been easy to throw away the countless reports and notes he had compiled, detailing areas he believed required improvement. It would also have been easy to abandon the dream of succeeding with Ferrari. Instead, Lewis Hamilton chose another path.
At the end of the 2025 season in Abu Dhabi, he hinted at the extensive self-analysis that would follow over the winter.
“Every weekend I wrote down what I believed went wrong and the decisions I made. During the break I’ll analyse everything and take action to understand how I can make better decisions in the future. And I’m talking about everything: the people around me, the team members and how they are being used. I’ll evaluate whether some people need to be moved into different positions to work more effectively. We absolutely cannot continue like this. Something has to change.”
Once those words were spoken, Lewis Hamilton acted on them. He continued to push stubbornly for changes within Ferrari, refusing to abandon his position and refusing to compromise on issues he believed were essential. Rather than allowing Ferrari to reshape him, he remained determined to stay true to himself. Crucially, he also found a powerful ally in team principal Fred Vasseur.
Honesty as Ferrari’s catalyst for change
Following his victory in Barcelona, Lewis Hamilton knew that an important foundation had finally been laid. He also understood that the success had significantly increased his credibility within the team.
It was Hamilton himself who reflected on the complexity of integrating into Ferrari and the challenges his arrival created inside the organization.
“I think last year was incredibly difficult for Fred to manage. My arrival was a huge shock to the system because I am a very, very direct person. If I see something that I don’t think is right, I push very hard. That’s who I am and in that respect I’m relentless.”
Hamilton acknowledged that his determination was not always easy for the team to accept.
“I don’t think it’s easy to be on the receiving end of all this, especially when you’re leading an entire organization and a culture that has developed in a certain way. Fred is also French working within an Italian culture, so it was very difficult for him to manage.”
Despite those challenges, Fred Vasseur never stopped supporting his driver. Instead, the two worked together to address the issues that Lewis Hamilton believed were limiting Ferrari’s progress: “He continued believing in me and became an ally. In the end he listened to me, and I really had to push for some changes. He made those changes possible and I’ll always be grateful to him for that.”
The transformation occurred on multiple fronts. One significant change involved Hamilton’s race engineering team. Riccardo Adami moved aside and Carlo Santi stepped into the role, quickly developing a strong relationship with the seven-time world champion: “We had never met before and we immediately got along. He is very, very quiet and struggles to express his emotions. I hug him and thank him all the time.”
Beyond personnel changes, Ferrari also embraced important technical adjustments that better suited Hamilton’s driving preferences.
The most visible example was the adoption of Carbon Industrie brake discs and pads in place of the Brembo components previously used. The change gave Lewis Hamilton the more progressive braking feel he had relied upon throughout much of his Formula 1 career. At the same time, Hamilton encouraged Ferrari to take greater risks and adopt a more innovative approach to development.
“We introduced the winglet around the exhaust area, then the Macarena update. That was exactly what I was asking for last year. They showed they could do it and they’ll do it again.”
The comments highlighted a growing confidence that Ferrari had finally embraced a more aggressive development philosophy, one that aligned closely with Hamilton’s vision of how a championship-contending team should operate. Ultimately, Lewis Hamilton managed to shape Ferrari around his needs while remaining uncompromisingly true to himself. His final remark after the Barcelona victory perhaps summed up the relationship better than anything else.
“I’ll probably sleep in this red shirt tonight…”
By that point, Ferrari red seemed to fit Lewis Hamilton perfectly.
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