Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari ‘underestimated’ challenge in telling Vasseur admission

While Lewis Hamilton is not retiring, he and Ferrari did perhaps “underestimate” the challenge of his adaptation.

That is the concession made by Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, with Hamilton having hit a new mental low at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Talk of a retirement announcement, however, has since been put to bed.

Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari: A slow-burner waiting to flourish?

Hamilton took a major leap of faith by departing Mercedes for Ferrari. While the success in recent years had dried up for the seven-time World Champion, it was a complete shift of environment upon turning 40.

Not only did Hamilton need to settle into the unique Italian culture of the Ferrari team, he also had to gel with the Ferrari engine, having used Mercedes power throughout his illustrious career.

Flashes of performance have shown, Hamilton winning the Sprint in China. But, overall, it has been an underwhelming first-half of F1 2025.

Hamilton headed into the summer break 42 points behind team-mate Charles Leclerc in the Drivers’ Championship. All five of Ferrari’s podiums have been scored by Leclerc.

While Hamilton had started to generate a little bit of momentum, that came crashing down in Hungary. Calling himself “useless” as he dropped out in Q2 while Leclerc claimed pole position, Hamilton suggested Ferrari “change driver”, and hinted at things going on in the “background” which were “not great”.

These comments only further fuelled the retirement talk which had been sparked by a cryptic Hamilton social media post. Ultimately, the announcement which followed was not his retirement as some fans had feared, but rather the launch of a new non-alcoholic spirit from Almave, the company which Hamilton co-founded.

“I think perhaps that we underestimate the challenge for Lewis at the beginning of the season,” Vasseur admitted to the Formula 1 website.

“He spent almost 10 years with McLaren and then 10 years with Mercedes – that’s almost 20 years with Mercedes in the same environment.

“It was a huge change for Lewis in terms of culture, in terms of people around him, in terms of software, in terms of car, in terms of every single topic was a big change perhaps that we underestimate this, Lewis and myself.”

For Hamilton, the situation did not get a great deal easier on Grand Prix Sunday in Hungary. Finishing where he started in twelfth was not good momentum going into the summer shutdown.

However, Hamilton is determined to “come back stronger” when the season resumes with 10 rounds to go.

“It’s been a challenging weekend and one to move on from,” he said.

“We weren’t able to make the progress we hoped for but I’m grateful for the effort everyone in the team put in throughout the weekend.

“Now we head into the break. I’ll be using the time to reset, recharge and come back stronger.

“I’m not where I want to be yet, but the fight’s not over – don’t count me out.”

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc head-to-head in F1 2025

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Is Lewis Hamilton waiting for next year?

Hamilton’s golden opportunity with Ferrari could yet come in F1 2026, with sweeping regulation changes on the way.

Smaller, lighter cars will grace the grid. They will be powered by revamped engines, utilising a 50/50 split between electrical power and an internal combustion engine running on sustainable biofuels.

DRS will be consigned to the history books, as active aerodynamics make their mark.

Such an overhaul creates the opportunity for major change in the pecking order, and opens the door for a team to steal a march on the competition. That is what Mercedes did back in 2014, as a streak of eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships began. Hamilton won six of his seven World Championships during that period.

Read next: New Charles Leclerc data emerges after George Russell’s ‘close to illegal’ claim