Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton is facing rare criticism this season, with a former F1 team owner taking aim at the British driver’s “poor form” since joining Ferrari. Hamilton, who ended his 12-year stint with Mercedes in 2024, made a high-profile switch to the Scuderia for 2025—a move fans hoped would reignite his eighth title ambitions. Instead, the season has been a rocky ride. With finishes like 10th in Australia, sixth in China, seventh in Japan and Saudi Arabia, and fifth in Bahrain, Hamilton’s campaign has underwhelmed.
A lone highlight came with a thrilling sprint race win in Shanghai, but consistent struggles have overshadowed that flash of brilliance. While optimism remains for a mid-season turnaround, one vocal critic has now questioned whether Hamilton’s legendary drive is fading.
Mystery critic roasts Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari struggles
The critic in question? Gian Carlo Minardi, former boss of the Minardi F1 team. The Italian didn’t mince words when dissecting Hamilton’s 2025 woes, calling his performances “inexplicable” given his pedigree. Minardi singled out the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where Hamilton trailed teammate Charles Leclerc by a staggering 30 seconds, finishing seventh while Leclerc clinched Ferrari’s first podium of the year.
“Leclerc’s race is to be applauded,” Minardi stated, praising the Monegasque for masking the SF-25’s flaws. “Hamilton’s pace, however, didn’t align with a seven-time champion. At present, it’s rather inexplicable.”
Leclerc’s dominance over Hamilton has been stark. The Monegasque leads their intra-team battle 47-20 in points, consistently outperforming Lewis Hamilton in qualifying and race trim. While Ferrari’s car has shown flashes of competitiveness—Leclerc’s P3 in Jeddah proved that—Hamilton’s inability to extract similar speed has raised eyebrows.
A season of “painful” adjustments
Hamilton himself has been candid about his struggles. After the Saudi GP, he admitted there’s no clear fix for his Ferrari woes.
“There’s nothing to say, ‘Hey, this is the issue,’” he confessed. “At the moment, there’s no solution. It’s just going to be painful.”
The Briton scrapped personal plans post-Jeddah to hunker down at Ferrari’s Maranello factory, determined to decode the SF-25’s quirks.
“I’ll have to cancel some plans,” he grimly told media, signaling his urgency to reverse the slump.
The contrast between Hamilton’s Mercedes swan song and his Ferrari debut is jarring. Last year, he battled Max Verstappen for podiums; this season, he’s grappling with a car that, per Carlo Minardi, “exposes its weaknesses” in his hands. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc’s adaptability has spotlighted Hamilton’s adjustment pains.
McLaren’s shadow and Ferrari’s identity crisis
Lewis Hamilton’s struggles are magnified by McLaren’s dominance. The Woking squad has claimed four of five Grand Prix wins, with Oscar Piastri emerging as a title contender. Ferrari, tipped preseason to challenge for championships, now fights to stay relevant.
Team principal Fred Vasseur’s gamble on Hamilton—a move meant to pair Charles Leclerc’s flair with Hamilton’s experience—has yet to pay dividends. Instead, the SF-25’s balance issues have left Hamilton searching for answers.
Carlo Minardi’s critique hints at a deeper concern: Is Hamilton’s legendary adaptability waning? The driver who once tamed mercurial Mercedes machines now seems out of sync with Ferrari’s engineering language.
Redemption or reckoning?
The pressure is on. With Miami’s Grand Prix looming, Hamilton faces a pivotal moment. Can he unlock the SF-25’s potential, or will 2025 become a forgettable chapter in his storied career? Ferrari’s upgrades and Lewis Hamilton’s Maranello retreat offer glimmers of hope. Yet, as Carlo Minardi’s remarks underscore, patience is thinning.
For Hamilton, the path forward is clear: channel the resilience that defined his Mercedes reign. If anyone can turn “inexplicable” into “unstoppable,” it’s the man with 103 career wins. But time—and the unforgiving F1 calendar—waits for no one.