Lewis Hamilton Ferrari approach questioned after disaster season

Sky's Formula 1 pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz has questioned Lewis Hamilton's approach to his first season with Ferrari, which turned out to be the worst of his F1 career.

For the first time in his career, the seven-time world champion went an entire campaign without securing a single Grand Prix podium – although he did claim a sprint race victory and podium.

After so many years with Mercedes, transitioning to Ferrari proved challenging for Hamilton, who struggled to make an immediate impact.

Despite his vast experience with McLaren and Mercedes, Hamilton was unable to translate this into a competitive year with the Scuderia.

In Kravitz's view, Hamilton had hoped his expertise would allow him to implement changes at Ferrari to restore the team to winning ways, particularly with the support of senior figures.

The opposite happened, with Ferrari chairman John Elkann publicly criticising both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc late in the season.

For the 40-year-old and Ferrari, much of 2025 has been about preparing for the new regulations in 2026, with the hope of returning to the top of the championship.

Speaking on the Sky F1 Podcast, Kravitz said: "He thought he could bring the expertise he had from his time at Mercedes — however many years it was, 10 years — and the years before that at McLaren, and then change just a few things to bring Ferrari back into the winner’s circle consistently.

"And he believed he had two people in John Elkann and Fred Vasseur who backed him completely. That changed in late September or October, when Elkann made his comments, and now he goes into the winter thinking, ‘OK, if I can just get some things improved, then at least I’ve got maybe a chance of some success.’

"But bear in mind, he went to Ferrari because they were offering a longer-term deal than Mercedes, weren’t they, and the promise that he might actually be able to win some races.

"So I think he will stay on. I think he will hope for 2026, but he went to Ferrari wanting to win and wanting to be as quick as, or quicker than, Leclerc."