Lewis Hamilton ‘disappointing’ as ‘doesn’t seem anywhere near his best’ verdict cast

Lewis Hamilton has been “disappointing” in his first half-season with Ferrari, says Jolyon Palmer.

Stressing that Hamilton was a significant investment to get Ferrari back to the top, Palmer argued the team are “miles away” from that position, McLaren having emerged as the runaway Constructors’ Championship leaders, while Hamilton sits P6 in the Drivers’ standings.

Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari: Best still to come?

Hamilton called time on his record-breaking Mercedes stint after 12 seasons and six World Championships won with the team, opting to continue his pursuit of a history-making eighth title overall with Ferrari.

But Hamilton is yet to score his first podium with Ferrari, while team-mate Charles Leclerc has pulled that off four times this season.

For ex-F1 driver turned pundit Palmer, Hamilton is not delivering.

“You have to say it’s been disappointing, let’s be honest,” said Palmer on the F1 Nation podcast.

“This is a Lewis Hamilton with Ferrari, the matchup that we were all hoping was going to be a chance for a title bid. And he doesn’t seem like he’s anywhere near his best right now and in harmony with the car.

“I thought Silverstone actually looked like it was going to be the best of Lewis again, until he didn’t quite nail that final qualifying lap. But it was the best I’ve seen from him this year, maybe since the China sprint as a one-off earlier on.

“He looked like every lap, he was quick. That was the good thing for Hamilton in Silverstone. It was not just a stint here, a lap there, it was, every lap, in practice and in qualifying, that he was a little bit ahead of Charles mostly, and Ferrari were bang on the pace.

“Obviously, the execution then was a bit disappointing. Hopefully, it’s just showing that he is getting more comfortable with the car, and these upgrades are getting him a little bit more suited to it.

“Austria was better. But this is Lewis Hamilton, guys. He’s not signed to be a decent number two to Charles Leclerc either. This was a big money signing to get Ferrari back on the top step, and they are miles away from it in the big picture here.

“Obviously, McLaren has got a great car, but Lewis hasn’t been on the podium in Grand Prix conditions yet. So, hopefully the trajectory is good, but you can’t say that this has been anything but disappointing at the moment.”

Latest F1 2025 head-to-head standings

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

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

Hamilton joined Ferrari off the back of a difficult final season with Mercedes.

While he claimed a ninth British Grand Prix win in 2024 and added a P1 at Spa to the highlight reel, it was an underwhelming season for Hamilton overall, who struggled over lap especially against team-mate George Russell.

Palmer was asked if Hamilton in F1 2025 is having a better season to date compared with 2024.

“It’s difficult to tell,” Palmer replied. “I personally think it’s probably been a little bit harder for him this year than last year.

“He’d already had the the British Grand Prix win, and he was about to get the Belgian Grand Prix win as well. And at least the race pace last year looked like it was better, even if he was being outqualified by George.

“But then he was much more happy and confident with Mercedes still. He was still working with Bono [race engineer Peter Bonnington] and all of these teething issues that he has at Ferrari, he was not about to be having in his 11th year with Mercedes. So it’s a difficult comparison.

“But the other thing is, the team-mate’s different as well. And George is having a brilliant season once again this year, showing how good he is. But I also think Charles is really, really an exceptional driver at Ferrari.

“So when we knew he was going to be team-mates with Leclerc, you never thought it was going to be a walk in the park for even a Hamilton end of 2023 having a really great season. You still thought that’s going to be a close matchup. And it’s just for the first half, it’s been tough going for him.”

Ferrari’s best Grand Prix result so far in F1 2025 is Leclerc’s runner-up result in Monaco, but Palmer senses that will not be the peak of the Scuderia’s season.

Asked if Ferrari will win a race in F1 2025, Palmer predicted: “Yeah, they’ll win a race before the end of the year.

“Singapore they should have a good chance, when you look at the performance that they had in Monaco. Even Monza, you know, they’re always competitive. And Monza, that would be the fairy tale story for either driver, but obviously Hamilton, who’s not won there in Ferrari colours before.

“They’ve had chances this year, Monaco, Leclerc, he was on provisional pole, and then the McLarens did that second run which got him. But on a like for like, one set of tyres, one lap, he was ahead.

“And Canada, again Leclerc crashed on Friday, did no laps, and still was halfway through his final lap looking like he was going to be challenging for pole, at least the front row.

“And then Silverstone, both of them could have put it on the front row at the very least. I think they could have had pole. Certainly Hamilton lost a chunk of time in the final couple of corners.

“I was down in parc fermé ready to interview. I was watching the times come in. I thought this is going to be the Hamilton pole at Silverstone, because he was absolutely nailing it through 15 of the 18 corners. But then you could just see him get a little bit wide, coming into the breaking zone for Club and lost it.

“But the potential is definitely there, and I would be amazed if they don’t get a win this year.”

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