As the 2025 Formula 1 season comes to a close, Charles Leclerc will complete his seventh full year with Ferrari without securing a world championship. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, already a seven-time F1 champion, appears further than ever from adding an eighth title to his record with the Scuderia.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will mark a milestone for Leclerc, as he will start his 150th race for Ferrari. Only Michael Schumacher, with 180 starts, and Kimi Raikkonen, with 151, have competed in more Grands Prix for the team. Raikkonen, Ferrari’s last drivers’ champion, clinched the title in his debut season of 2007, while Schumacher needed five seasons to lift his first trophy for the team before winning five consecutive championships. Leclerc, by contrast, has so far had to settle for a single runner-up finish in 2022.
Although Hamilton remains one of the most decorated drivers in F1 history, signs of decline are emerging. At the start of 2025, Ferrari’s driver lineup was widely regarded as one of the strongest on the grid, but perceptions have shifted as the season has unfolded.
F1 fans express skepticism over Ferrari’s championship prospects
The popular motorsport site F1Oversteer has been running a “Talking Points” poll asking fans whether Ferrari will ever claim a championship with Leclerc or Hamilton. Out of more than 2,300 votes, 64.6% of respondents expressed doubt, while only 35.4% still believe the current driver duo can deliver a title.
Ferrari chairman John Elkann recently hinted that the drivers themselves might be part of the problem, advising both Leclerc and Hamilton to “talk less” following the Brazilian Grand Prix. At the same time, he commended the efforts of Ferrari’s engineers and mechanics, suggesting the team’s on-track performance issues may not lie solely with the drivers.
However, the poll results may also reflect growing fan skepticism regarding Ferrari’s organizational culture. Even with two elite drivers, the team may lack the operational cohesion, strategic mindset, or adaptive processes required to secure a championship in the current F1 era.
Lewis Hamilton’s efforts to improve Ferrari’s performance raise questions
Lewis Hamilton has been determined to avoid repeating the disappointments experienced by past greats such as Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, who each finished as championship runners-up while driving for Ferrari. According to former Mercedes engineer Aldo Costa, the British driver has been striving to become the “hero” at Ferrari, seeking to end the team’s long-standing winless streak.
To achieve this, Lewis Hamilton has reportedly submitted detailed feedback documents to Ferrari, outlining technical changes and strategic improvements he believes are necessary to make the team competitive. Veteran F1 commentator David Croft has voiced concerns that this initiative may not have been well-received within the team. Ferrari’s leadership and engineering culture is often described as rigid, potentially limiting their ability to quickly adopt new approaches even from a driver of Hamilton’s caliber.
As the season concludes, both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton face mounting pressure to deliver results, not only to satisfy fans but also to demonstrate that Ferrari can return to championship-winning form with its current lineup. For now, though, the poll suggests that most F1 supporters remain unconvinced that the Prancing Horse has the right combination of drivers and structure to break its title drought.
