“Same thing last year”: Lewis Hamilton’s former teammate makes sense of his Ferrari struggles 

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton made the move from Mercedes to Ferrari with the hopes of winning his eighth F1 title. However, the Briton's stint at the Italian stable didn't begin as brightly as he would've expected, with Hamilton struggling in the SF25. Lewis’ former teammate Fernando Alonso came out and made sense of the Ferrari driver's recent struggles.

Lewis Hamilton currently sits 6th in the constructors' championship on 79 points, whereas his teammate Charles Leclerc sits 5th with 104 points. Although the Briton won the Sprint race in China, he failed to get on the podium even once in the main races during his tenure at Ferrari.

Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, has three podiums to his name, with the most recent one coming in at the Spanish GP. Comparatively, Lewis Hamilton was frustrated after the race in Barcelona, and rumours about the Briton's early exit from Scuderia started circling the paddock.

F1 Grand Prix of Canada - Source: Getty

Fernando Alonso recently came out and reflected on Hamilton's struggles since the move to Ferrari. The two drivers teamed up for McLaren in 2007, which was Hamilton's debut year, and finished equal on 109 points each, losing the title by one point to Kimi Raikkonen.

“I think it didn’t change much, the situation from last year, with [George] Russell. It was the same thing last year. The Mercedes was a complicated car to drive, apparently. Russell was a little more comfortable, maybe this year it’s the same thing – but without knowing the full picture, it’s difficult to have an opinion.”

However, Fernando Alonso believes Hamilton had announced back a,s he added,

“Lewis is a tremendous driver, especially in tracks like this in Canada. He’s able to exploit all his strengths. So over 24 races, then you do the maths. At the moment he’s struggling, but I think he can reverse the situation quite quickly.”

F1 Veteran recommends Ferrari to build the 2026 car around Lewis Hamilton

Charles Leclerc had a major hand in the development of the Ferrari SF 25, as the development started in 2024, only when Hamilton was still at Mercedes. While Leclerc likes a car with a strong front end, Hamilton likes one with a stable rear end. Hence, the Briton's struggles with a front-sensitive car are understood.

Amid this, former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya came out as he suggested that the 2026 Ferrari should be built around Hamilton. He said,

“In my opinion if Ferrari want to be competitive next year the base of the car has to be more based on Lewis than on Charles because the cars that have been based on Charles are cars that can win one or two races a year, but no [titles]”

Lewis Hamilton recently urged Ferrari to build a race-winning car for the 2026 season.

Edited by pranavsethii