"A seven-time world champion joins the most successful team ever.”These were the premises that had accompanied Hamilton's arrival at Ferrari. Without a doubt, therefore, also expectations were very high, however, they do not seem to have been respected. In fact, there is already talk of a crisis between Hamilton and Ferrari, who perhaps have never managed to understand each other.
So what's Lewis's real problem: advanced age? An inability to adapt to a new way of working? An SF25 born under an unlucky star? Perhaps. But one thing is certain: Lewis Hamilton now has a resigned and surrendered attitude as if he had lost hope both in himself and in the team. For this reason today we will analyze the reasons for this crisis and ask ourselves if there is a possible way out in the wake of theanalysis that we had already done at the beginning of the championship.
A look at some data: Lewis suffers from Charles' results
The only way to evaluate a driver's performance is to compare it to that of his teammate. This is because they both have cars of the same level. In fact, it's not for nothing that they say a driver's greatest enemy is the one he shares a garage with.
And this is where the difficult situation in which the number 44 finds itself emerges: with a comparison of 4-12 in qualifying and 5-12 in the race, always in favor of Leclerc. For a total of 42 points difference in the championship. So although the gap in times both in the flying lap and in qualifying between the two is never excessively high (an average of around 3 tenths), the situation cannot fail to be considered worrying.
Hamilton and Ferrari: the other reasons for the crisis
At this point, based on the analysis proposed by Roberto Chinchero, we can analyze the main problems that Hamilton is encountering at Ferrari. And they have led us to speak of a real crisis. First of all, it must be said that theand ground effect single-seaters don't perfectly match Lewis' driving characteristics. However, it is inevitable that the problems we are talking about today did not start in 2022 but with his arrival at Ferrari.
This is because the 7-time world champion found himself catapulted into a completely different environment after 12 years at Mercedes: a new way of working and drivinge which is not easy to get used to, especially if you are no longer so young. To this we must add themental aspectIn fact, seeing your teammate doing better than you, you try to push yourself to the limit in terms of driving and with aggressive set-ups. But this only exposes you to a greater risk of errors that will lead you to enter a negative loop.
Lewis is now resigned: “I'm useless, maybe Ferrari should change drivers”
Regarding the mental aspect, his words are emblematic statements after qualifying for the Hungarian GP: «It's not a car problem, It's my problem: I'm useless, completely useless. Maybe we need to change the driver, because apparently it is possible to bring this car to pole position» (referring to Leclerc who had set the best time that weekend).
So, is this crisis perhaps more internal to Hamilton himself than to the Ferrari team? Could he possibly feel he's hit rock bottom? At this point in the season, a change is definitely necessary. It is essential for Lewis to be able to escape from the negative vortex he's entered. To do this, he must regain his solidity, first and foremost mentally, and then return to being the Hamilton we remember in every way. How? We can't know. Perhaps only he truly knows what's going on in his head. But the only thing we can do is wait and see how things unfold.
What if this crisis between Hamilton and Ferrari stems from a lack of listening from the team?
Finally, it's important to note that the previously cited statement can also be interpreted in another way. This is provided by the former F1 driver: Juan Pablo Montoya who argues that Lewis' intention with this sentence was quite different.
Hamilton, in fact, didn't want to talk about an internal crisis within himself, but rather a lack of communication between himself and Ferrari. Here are the words of the former Colombian driver: "It's a way of telling Ferrari: if you don't listen to me, then you might as well send me awayThe main problem is that Lewis doesn't get the attention he wants and isn't getting enough attention for what he wants and what he stands for.".
This would derive from Ferrari's operating method, which is completely different from Mercedes'. In fact, Montoya continues: "I think the Ferrari has a very structured approach in his way of doing things because there is a lot of tradition and a lot of politicsAnd I think Lewis is more accustomed to the Mercedes perspective, which is: 'What do we have to do to win?'. It's not a question of politics, at Mercedes the basis of the work is results."
To conclude we can say that the crisis between Hamilton and Ferrari seems to have started on day one. Almost like a marriage that started with the promisesYet it's impossible for us to understand the real reasons for these tensions. And perhaps it's difficult even for those who experience them firsthand...
