Jose Mourinho references Lewis Hamilton's F1 greatness to defend his football club's reputation

José Mourinho used Lewis Hamilton as an example to defend SL Benfica’s reputation, after criticism from rival team, Sporting CP president Frederico Varandas. The Benfica coach pushed back at the narrative that the club “arrives late” in title races, saying that history matters, pointing to the seven-time champion’s record, despite difficult recent seasons.

Sporting has won back-to-back league titles in 2024 and 2025, ending a decades-long wait to dominate. Varandas said that “Benfica usually arrives late,” pointing toward the 2024 campaign, where the Lisbon club found form deep into the season and eventually lost the title by two points.

However, Benfica remain the most decorated team in Portugal, with 38 national championships to Sporting’s 21, and Mourinho was not interested in letting that context be dismissed. Speaking in the pre-match press conference, ahead of the trip to Braga on December 28, he drew a direct comparison with Hamilton.

“I don’t want to comment on the words of the Sporting president and I will try not to comment on the words of any of the presidents. Is this gasoline for us? No. Benfica’s history shows that, sometimes, you arrive late, but most of the time, you don’t. Lewis Hamilton arrived late to the last two Formula 1 World Championships, but won seven or eight. He arrived late, but he is the driver with the most championships,” Mourinho said, via LNG in NBC.

Jose Mourinho’s comparison carries weight. The Briton's career remains the standard in F1 with most wins, poles, titles, podiums, and career points in history. However, Lewis Hamilton has struggled in the last few years.

In his final year with Mercedes in 2024, Hamilton finished seventh in the standings, his lowest ever, despite five podiums and two wins that came more because of execution than the raw dominance of his title-winning years.

Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari during the F1 Grand Prix of Spain. Source: Getty

Hamilton's first year at Ferrari was even more demanding. He finished the 2025 campaign sixth in standings with 156 points, without a podium finish for the first time in his entire F1 career. Charles Leclerc alone won all podiums for Ferrari with seven visits to the rostrum. The team went winless and finished behind Red Bull, McLaren, and Mercedes in the Constructors’ standings.

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When José Mourinho called Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari “the Real Madrid of Formula 1”

Jose Mourinho and family in the Ferrari garage at Silverstone Circuit. Source: Getty

Jose Mourinho’s admiration for Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari is not new. He follows F1 closely and often visits the paddock. Earlier this year at Silverstone, the Portuguese coach was in the paddock. Hamilton showed him and his family inside the Scuderia garage and the environment surrounding the team.

Mourinho summed it up with a comparison that matched his football world:

“Ferrari is the Real Madrid of Formula 1. At Real, they say that when you put on the white jersey you’re already winning 1–0. It’s the same with Ferrari – when you step onto the track, you win. But while wearing red is a dream, it is also a huge responsibility. It’s logical that representing such an important brand involves a lot of responsibility and a lot of pressure. How do you deal with the pressure? By winning,” he said, via GP Tours.

That afternoon at Silverstone, both Ferrari drivers struggled in rainy conditions. Charles Leclerc fell outside the points, while Hamilton finished fourth, despite Ferrari lacking outright pace.

The rest of the campaign followed a similar trend. Ferrari had already shifted resources toward 2026 early. That strategy, acknowledged by team principal Fred Vasseur, hurt them in the short term and left Hamilton and co. navigating a car that lacked consistency throughout the year.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam