Lewis Hamilton humbled as bruising reality of Ferrari F1 season emerges

Comments from a rival Formula 1 team principal may just have ended Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari honeymoon period, as the harsh reality of F1 begins to kick in.

The hype around Hamilton's shock switch to Ferrari has been off the scale in F1 terms, with the seven-time world champion's first picture wearing the iconic red of the Maranello outfit amassing 4.3 million likes on Instagram.

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Since then, Ferrari have shared 24 more Hamilton-centred posts on their Instagram account, making full use of the marketing opportunities that the historic signing has produced.

Hamilton ditching the Mercedes team with whom he was with for 12 seasons - claiming six championships and 84 race victories in that time - and instead joining the most successful and iconic team on the F1 grid represents arguably the biggest driver signing in the history of the sport.

But soon the hype will stop, and it will be on Hamilton to perform, or face the ire of the expectant Ferrari fans as many drivers have done before.

Ferrari have finally dropped the official 2025 merch, click here to shop Hamilton's debut kit in red.

Form is temporary, class is permanent?

Hamilton's supreme legacy in the sport points in the direction that the now 40-year-old Brit will succeed with the team, and push them closer to their first title of any kind since 2008.

However, his recent form does not necessarily point to the same outcome. For Hamilton and Ferrari, only a record-breaking eighth world championship title will be enough to quantify his move as a success, and that feat could not have been further away in 2024.

Hamilton regularly adopted a downbeat attitude, even suggesting at one stage that he simply was "not fast anymore," as he succumbed to a career-low seventh in the drivers' championship, behind team-mate George Russell.

The Brit's new team-mate Charles Leclerc arguably offers a sterner test to Hamilton than Russell, with the Monegasque driver being one of the fastest qualifiers on the grid, with qualifying being Hamilton's nemesis throughout the 2024 season.

If Ferrari were to give the two drivers a dominant car capable of winning the world championship, current form points to the fact that it would be Leclerc taking the title at the end of the season, and not Hamilton.

That would be forgetting Hamilton's outstanding 2023 season, however, when he managed to finish a brilliant third in the drivers' championship despite Mercedes arguably having the fourth-fastest car for large periods of that season.

On top of this, there were some stand out performances during Hamilton's dismal 2024 season, most notably at the British Grand Prix, where he stormed to a record-breaking ninth victory around his home circuit.

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McLaren boss highlights Hamilton pressure

With Ferrari very much the centre of attention in the F1 world, and Red Bull also having a new driver sat alongside Max Verstappen in Liam Lawson, 2024 constructors' champions McLaren are seemingly flying under the radar.

Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri appear ready for a championship battle, if McLaren can provide them with the tools, in what is looking like a wide open championship race.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has been the catalyst for the Woking outfit's stunning turnaround, taking the reins at the start of 2023, when it appeared as though McLaren may have been one of the slowest teams on the grid.

Earlier this week, Stella warned Ferrari that, although their signing of Hamilton is great for the sport and will generate much excitement, the pressure is on both them and the seven-time champion to perform on track.

"After the initial excitement, I’m sure they will focus very much on making sure that the preparation is good and, on our side, we will try and make their life a little bit difficult," the Italian told Sky Sports F1.

"Observing from a distance I can say that I think the way it is, at least for how this has been reported, it was a great introduction of Lewis to Ferrari.

"To be honest, as a fan of Formula 1, by having been 15 years at Ferrari before, I felt excited myself to see something that is historic for Formula 1, a seven-time world champion going to Ferrari, one of the most iconic teams.

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"I think Ferrari and Hamilton handled this very well, but ultimately - I’m sure they know very well - what counts is what’s happening on track."

Hamilton's on-track exploits at Ferrari's private track in Fiorano, and in a special test at the Circuit de Catalunya, have been widely documented via the team's social media pages, and that's even before the three-day pre-season testing that takes place for all teams at the end of this month.

The Brit will be under immediate pressure to hit the ground running, with expectant fans already comparing his testing lap times to team-mate Leclerc, and a poor first qualifying session of the year in Australia will already start to build the narrative of a washed-up champion.

How long will Hamilton last at Ferrari?

Thankfully, we are in 2025, and the world of F1 no longer needs to pay any attention to the many thoughts of ex-F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.

However, the 94-year-old did suggest earlier this month that Hamilton would not last two years at Ferrari.

Following a poor 2024 season, Hamilton may have been under some pressure at Mercedes in 2025 to perform, or face the daunting prospect of being pushed out of the team, like what happened to four-time champion Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari in 2020.

This new move will have rejuvenated the 40-year-old, however, and his stock in the sport is once again sky-high, despite his poor performances in 2024.

Even if Ferrari produce a car that's as miserable as Mercedes' 2024 challenger in 2025, Hamilton will hold out hope that he can return to winning ways in 2026, when new regulations come sweeping into the sport.

If Ferrari look to have regressed in 2026, however, or indeed Hamilton's performances are lacking compared to those of Leclerc, could the seven-time champion depart the sport for good at the end of the 2026 season?

Time will tell, but the immediate pressure to perform with the Maranello outfit can once again be emphasised by the passionate, expectant Tifosi, who at least want to see drivers winning regular races, particularly by the time the Italian GP comes around in late summer.

Huge names including Vettel, Felipe Massa, Nick Heidfeld and - perhaps most notably given his standing in the sport at the time - Fernando Alonso, have all struggled to keep Ferrari fans onside during their stints with the team - will Hamilton face similar struggles?

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