Italy already losing faith in Lewis Hamilton

Apr.20 (GMM) After all of the pre-season hype, Lewis Hamilton’s red adventure at Ferrari is already turning grey.

“From promises to doubts,” the headline at Corriere della Sera reads, referring to the “more complicated than expected” transition for the seven time world champion from Mercedes to Maranello.

The report expressed disappointment that while Hamilton’s predecessor Carlos Sainz is finally starting to settle at Williams, the same is not occurring at Ferrari.

“Even rookies like Ollie Bearman at Haas have needed less time to adapt,” Corriere della Sera declared, “and that is causing embarrassment inside and outside Maranello”.

Some are wondering if 40-year-old Hamilton’s Ferrari adventure could end as soon as December.

Former high profile Ferrari engineer Luigi Mazzola told Sky Italia that Hamilton’s 2025 season so far reminds him of Sebastian Vettel’s ill-fated last couple of seasons in red.

In both 2019 and 2020, Vettel’s teammate was Charles Leclerc.

“Leclerc is like (Max) Verstappen,” Mazzola said. “He can handle a difficult car. It’s his driving style.”

Vettel, now retired, is actually in Saudi Arabia this weekend – and he defended the struggling Hamilton.

“It’s a new environment, a different culture, different people. Some simply need longer to find their way around,” the quadruple world champion told Sky Deutschland.

“There is no doubt about the fact that Lewis can drive. He can do everything that’s asked of him. It’s also completely normal to need a bit of time,” added the German.

“If development moves in the right direction, Ferrari will be in a completely different position. They were very strong last year and only just missed out on the constructors’ championship. You shouldn’t write off either the team or either of their drivers,” Vettel said.