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Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari was billed as a historic partnership, but apart from a sprint race victory in China, he hasn’t yet managed a GP podium finish.
Lewis Hamilton finished 7th at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (Picture credit: AP)
Former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher has said that, going by his own experience, he feels that Lewis Hamilton’s association with Ferrari might end sooner than expected, with the seven-time world champion unable to push his car for a podium finish in the ongoing season.
Hamilton’s move to Ferrari was seen as a historic partnership, but apart from a sprint race victory in China, the seven-time world champion hasn’t yet managed a GP podium finish.
Hamilton’s best result has been a fifth-place finish in Bahrain, while teammate Charles Leclerc has outperformed him and bagged a podium in Jeddah, raising questions over Hamilton’s inability to perform in the car.
“He just can’t cope with the car. We talk a lot about Lando Norris, but it’s almost worse with him. You can see that he’s slumped over. If you are standing there at some point and have no more resources and are permanently slower, then you lose everything,” Schumacher said while speaking on the Backstage Pit Lane Podcast.
Hamilton started with a 10th-place finish in Australia on his Ferrari debut and won the Chinese sprint after starting on pole.
Things took a turn for the worse at the race that week as Hamilton was disqualified for breaching Article 4.1 of the technical weight regulations.
Schumacher said that Hamilton is used to operating at the top end of the grid and has been unable to cope with both the car and being defeated by Leclerc.
“I know from my own experience, if it goes on like this, it’s no fun anymore… There is a risk that at some point, he will say, ‘Look, I don’t want this anymore. I want to live my life now, I’m 40 years old,” Schumacher said.
Ferrari received a boost after a sluggish start to the season on Sunday, April 20, with Leclerc bagging the team’s first GP podium of the year in Saudi Arabia.
The Scuderia’s fine form from 2024 didn’t survive the winter, despite the arrival from Mercedes of Hamilton.
As the seven-time world champion experiences bedding-in problems as he becomes accustomed to his new surroundings after over a decade with the Silver Arrows, Leclerc clicked in Jeddah at the fifth attempt.
