After spending 12 years with Mercedes, Hamilton had hoped that the move to Ferrari would help his ambitions for an eighth world championship. For any driver, moving to Ferrari is a dream, to be able to work with a team that has such a rich history in motorsports and Formula One.
Hamilton’s move was announced prior to the 2024 season, sparking constant debate, and sending reverberating shockwaves through the world. His decision to swap his black overalls for red may have been the one to secure his eighth world title, but the 40-year-old is struggling.
His decision to swap his black overalls for red may have been the one to secure his eighth world title, but the 40-year-old is struggling.
After the fifth race at Saudi Arabia where he finished seventh and 31 seconds behind his teammate who placed 3rd, Hamilton conceded that “if this is how it’s going to be for the rest of the year, it’s going to be painful.”
Although a transition period was to be expected after spending so long with one team, the numbers don’t lie. With the exception of the Chinese Grand Prix, the gap from Hamilton to Leclerc in qualifying has steadily widened. Hamilton’s average qualifying position currently sits at 7.4, improving slightly to 6.3 when you add in his China sprint pole. In comparison, Leclerc’s this season is 4.8.
When asked how long he felt it would take to adjust to the car he admitted “I really don’t know. When I joined Mercedes the first six months were tough. We’re working as hard as we can to shorten that.”
It was speculated that Toto Wolff, Team principal of Mercedes would have replaced Hamilton for the 2025 season, regardless of his decision to jump ship as it were. Having to restart with a whole new team this late in his career, and relearn the dynamic is proving to be difficult for the 7-time world champion. The only thing to do is to wait and see what happens.