Lewis Hamilton had hoped that his first year at Ferrari would be different from his final few seasons of struggles at Mercedes. But so far, the signs are grim for the seven-time champion, who has not only struggled to get up to speed with the SF-25 but has also been comprehensively outperformed by teammate Charles Leclerc.
It wasn’t the worst possible start for Hamilton. At Round 2 in China, he grabbed pole position for the sprint race and converted it into a win, sparking hope for the beginning of a new era. However, it turned out to be a false start.
Since then, there has been a drastic drop in Hamilton’s performance. He has looked uncomfortable with the car, and his struggles have only been amplified by Leclerc’s strong results on the other side of the garage. One of the most alarming statistics is that Hamilton — the man with a record 104 poles in his F1 career — has been out-qualified by Leclerc in every session since Shanghai.
And it’s not just that. Hamilton has also lacked race pace, finishing behind Leclerc in each of the same races. The gap between the two has only widened with each passing weekend.
A keen-eyed fan has taken to Reddit, to compare telemetry data between the two drivers since the Chinese GP in a bid to unearth why Hamilton has been struggling so much.
According to the analysis, Hamilton is struggling mainly in the medium- and high-speed corners compared to Leclerc. On top of that, the Briton appears to have very little confidence in the brakes, often braking earlier than the #16 driver and losing a significant amount of time as a result.
The findings have left fans of the 40-year-old even more distraught. One fan feared the worst, predicting a grim reality for Hamilton.
“We might not see Lewis win again (I really hope we do), but the trajectory he is on makes it doubtful,” they wrote.
Another fan compared Hamilton’s situation to that of Carlos Sainz — the man who was asked to make way for the Stevenage-born driver at Ferrari at the end of last year.
Now racing for Williams, some believe Sainz has a better chance of tasting more glory than Hamilton, despite the team switch. “Carlos will definitely win again. I trust him and James Vowles,” claimed one fan.
While that may seem hard to believe right now, considering Williams are only just emerging from their backmarker status, team principal James Vowles has frequently spoken about his goal to take the Grove-based team back to the top of F1. He also holds Sainz in high regard, viewing him as a key part of their long-term project.
It might not be solely about the SF-25 for Hamilton. He has generally struggled with ground-effect cars since 2022, as his driving style was more suited to the earlier turbo-hybrid era.
The most noticeable area of Hamilton’s struggles has been during qualifying, but now even his race pace appears to have taken a hit. With new regulations set to arrive in 2026, the Briton will hope these changes offer him a fresh start, allowing him to drive in a way that suits his style best.
