Former Ferrari F1 boss questions Lewis Hamilton signing

Head of the Audi F1 project Mattia Binotto has suggested Ferrari would have benefited from signing Lewis Hamilton several years ago, rather than picking him up towards the tail end of his career.

Hamilton joined Ferrari at the start of the 2025 campaign after ending his highly successful 12-year stint with Mercedes.

The seven-time champion has struggled for pace at the Italian squad and is still awaiting his first trip to the podium in red.

Binotto became the team principal at Ferrari in 2019 when Hamilton was at the height of his success with Mercedes.

The Italian suggested it was a better period for the squad to attempt to lure Hamilton, who turned 40 earlier this year.

“Hamilton is of a certain age,” Binotto acknowledged. “Ferrari got him when he was already at the end of his career.

“Ideally, they would have been able to get him a few years earlier.”

Ferrari has not enjoyed the strong start to the campaign it was hoping for and has been unable to contest against front-runners McLaren for race wins.

But Binotto, who worked for Ferrari for over two decades before ascending to the team principal role, has backed his former team to turn around its disappointing form.

“As an outsider, perhaps one shouldn't even judge,” he said. 

“It's clear that the performance on the track and the results are not good right now. 

“But I know every single member of that team very well and I know that they are good, strong and capable. 

“They will know how to improve the car and do well in the future. And I think Ferrari can take some satisfaction for this year.”