Lewis Hamilton handed ‘painful to watch’ verdict after maiden Ferrari campaign

Former Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski has described Lewis Hamilton’s maiden season with Ferrari as "painful to watch", particularly following his late-season qualifying shockers.

The start of 2025 was dominated by Hamilton’s blockbuster move to the Scuderia, with the first images of the 41-year-old in Ferrari red going viral.

It was always understood that time would be required for Hamilton to settle in at Ferrari, not only due to the different team culture but also because he had never previously driven a non-Mercedes-powered F1 car.

Despite expectations of a slow start, the seven-time world champion secured a surprise Sprint pole and Sprint victory in China — a result that arguably heightened expectations.

While Hamilton managed the occasional fourth-place finish in Grands Prix, his season spiralled as it progressed, culminating in three consecutive Q1 exits in the final rounds of the year.

Meanwhile, team-mate Charles Leclerc extracted several podium finishes from a difficult SF-25, increasing the points deficit between the Ferrari duo.

Qualifying proved to be Hamilton’s biggest weakness, despite him holding more pole positions than any driver in Formula 1 history.

Ultimately, his struggles have heightened the pressure on Ferrari to master the new power unit regulations this year, in order to ensure Hamilton can bounce back.

Asked on a recent episode of the RacingNews365 podcast whether Hamilton’s 2025 difficulties surprised him, Budkowski replied: "Yes, and you expect a driver moving to a new team to struggle a bit at the beginning.

"We’ve seen it with other drivers in previous seasons. We also know that Charles [Leclerc] is very, very quick, especially over one lap. And Lewis is probably not the best at that exercise.

"He’s good, but he’s not at the very top, so we were expecting him to struggle a bit in qualifying — but I think it was still surprising.

"You know, it’s almost like the first part of the season was better than the second part. The win and the Sprint in China were very encouraging. There were ups and downs, and he was struggling a bit to get to grips with the car.

"But for me, the three races at the end — the Q1 exits — were, I think, for every F1 fan, whether you’re a fan of Lewis or not, very painful to watch. You’ve got to respect the guy and what he’s achieved in the sport."