Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is confident that Lewis Hamilton retains his exceptional skill and talent, despite facing challenges in his initial period with Ferrari.
Although Charles Leclerc has generally outperformed Hamilton over the first six races, the seven-time champion showed improved form in Miami, securing third place in the Sprint race and finishing closely behind his Ferrari teammate in the main event, though in eighth position.
Prior to Miami, Hamilton had difficulty finding pace, often trailing Leclerc in competitive sessions, which led him to describe the upcoming 2025 season as potentially “painful” after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in April.
Wolff, who was Hamilton`s boss at Mercedes for 12 seasons, pointed to the Shanghai Sprint race as evidence of this, stating, “I think we saw that magic in the Sprint Race in Shanghai. He was completely dominating that race. It`s not like you have the magic in one race and then suddenly you lose the magic in the next one. I very much believe that it`s still there.”
He added, “If he aligns all his performance contributors and feels he is in the right space and the car is to his liking, he will be stellar. I have no doubt.”
Despite his performance challenges, Hamilton is currently only 12 points behind Leclerc heading into this weekend`s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.
Hamilton`s performance gap relative to Leclerc isn`t attributable to a single specific area, and Wolff believes his former driver will regain his peak form.
Wolff continued, “I`m also not surprised he has those road bumps. He was with us 12 years – the way of operating. He`s been put in a Ferrari, where his team-mate has been a long time. And his team-mate clearly is one of the very good ones. So from the outside and speaking to him, it`s a trajectory any new driver needs to go through in a top team.”
Wolff still `great friends` with Hamilton
Earlier in the year, Wolff mentioned that watching Hamilton`s progress alongside his two Mercedes drivers felt like having a third driver on the track. He confirmed they still stay in touch outside of race weekends.
“We`re still great friends with Lewis. I spent a lot of time with him, travelling, and I`m still seeing him,” he said. “It came to a point last year where, you know, it`s like spending 12 years in a row on holiday with your best friend. At a certain stage you say, well, maybe do something else this time around.
“And for Lewis, he needed a refresher, a reinvention. Ferrari is iconic, no doubt about that. Certainly he also got terms that were interesting for him.”
Russell: Not Nice to See Hamilton Struggle
Hamilton`s challenge in achieving consistent, strong results mirrors the pattern from his final year at Mercedes, where he finished behind teammate George Russell in the championship standings and was out-qualified by a significant margin (19-5).
Russell suggested that people might be “underestimating how difficult Formula 1 is” and the complexity involved in adjusting to a new team environment.
“He`s a champion, he`s a winner, and he`s in a position where he can`t achieve that,” Russell commented. “And it`s not easy to accept. If he was beaming with a big smile, you`d be questioning why he`s beaming with a big smile.
“I`ve got a lot of respect for him and I like him personally. It`s not nice to see somebody who`s not enjoying it.
“But why should he be enjoying it? Because for him it`s not about the money, it`s about the results. And it`s not clicking for him at the moment, but I`m sure it will click at one point.”
Marcus Prine