Ferrari told to hand Hamilton priority in controversial 'focus' claim

Juan Pablo Montoya has claimed it is in Ferrari's "interest" to focus their efforts on Lewis Hamilton in the 2025 F1 season.

Further still, the seven-time grand prix winner believes the Scuderia will do so, despite the British driver insisting he is focused on winning a first constructors' championship with the team, not a record-breaking eighth drivers' title.

The Colombian maintains Ferrari will at least say there is equal treatment between Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc, even if there is not.

In his view, much of how their relationship unfolds will be determined by how well the Italian team handles their partnership, which is widely considered the strongest driver line up in F1 this year.

A significant part of the danger is that Leclerc, as Ferrari's prodigal son, will have championship aspirations of his own and will not want to play second fiddle to Hamilton as he pursues his first title.

"I think the big thing is going to be the interaction with Charles and how all that develops," Montoya told OnlineCassino.

"That's the biggest thing in my opinion; how well are they going to work together and whether Ferrari is going to do a good job managing them. It is in their interest though to focus everything on Lewis. I think they will.

"Publicly, they're going to say it's equal and will let them race. But Mercedes was always equal! And last year, George started beating Lewis for the first time after Lewis said he was leaving."

Montoya: Hamilton 'wants it really bad'

Montoya senses Hamilton wants that elusive eighth title "really bad", regardless of what priorities he is outwardly projecting.

However, the 49-year-old was keen to highlight that championship success for the 105-time grand prix winner may almost entirely be determined on how well the Ferrari SF-25 stacks up against the competition.

"When anyone moves teams like Lewis, you’re always going to say that you're happier and feel more comfortable than you were before," he said. "That’s the standard corporate line.

"But I really do believe he wants to do it. I think he wants it really bad. He really wants to win. That's going to go a long way. It's hard to say what's going to happen, how good Ferrari is going to be.

"But you look at the car at the end of the year, it was the closest car to the McLaren. So being the closest car to the McLaren, you're not far off."