Lewis Hamilton’s struggle was largely unexpected in the first half of 2025.
He began his Formula One season by swapping Mercedes with Ferrari, the most successful driver-team union of all time.
But the victory in the sprint race in China was rare for Hamilton, who has endured multiple issues.
From the tricky sci-fi-25 to the fast teammates of Charles Leclair, Hamilton’s work has been reduced from his difficulties adapting to race engineer Riccard Adami.
But it’s not time to write him down yet, Crash.Net experts predict…
Lewis Lalcum: This season has been worse than expected for Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari. It was definitely not the fairy tale we wanted.
The seven-time world champion’s adaptation struggle shows no signs of cessation, and his confidence and self-confidence appear to be drained.
After a nightmare weekend in Hungary, Hungary finished outside the point for the first time on one of his favourite circuits, cutting off his disappointing, disappointing, disappointing figure.
The excitement and energy that Hamilton had when he first arrived at Ferrari was kicked out of him. I can’t remember a time when Hamilton was this low. It was a subject of concern, and it wasn’t a fun story to cover.
Despite this brilliant shine this year, Hamilton was inconsistent and outperformed both on qualifying and on race day by teammate Charles Leclair.
Hamilton has no answer and appears to be lost. Summer vacation is an ideal time for a 40-year-old British man to reset.
Based on the form of Ferrari and Hamilton, a victory appears unlikely, but there is plenty of time for Hamilton to arrest current performance issues and end the season with a positive note.
Hamilton has proven again and again in his illustrious career that he should not be amortized. Yes, he’s gone through an incredibly tough patch and is still facing his biggest challenges, but if someone can find a way to turn it around, Hamilton can.
Conor McDona: Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari Formula 1 career is worse than I thought. At the very least, I thought he would perform on a similar level to his predecessor, Carlos Sign. Hamilton’s lack of race space is the most worrying aspect of his Ferraristint.
Before the spa, he took a step forward on one lap, surpassing Charles Leclair three times in four races. But he continues to struggle across racial distances.
Hamilton doesn’t seem confident and his off-track attitude is uncomfortable to watch from time to time. For the rest of the season, Hamilton should return to his pre-Belgian performance level.
He sometimes qualifies Leclerc, but consistently becomes the second best in the race. Winning the elusive first podium for Ferrari is important for Hamilton in the upcoming rounds as he tries to stop corruption.
Derry Munikartono: The hype was off the charts when Lewis Hamilton signed Ferrari. Fans were dreaming, media was overdrive, everyone was expecting big things. However, in half seasons, fairy tales are not in shape at all. Certainly, that Chinese sprint race won – a lovely little trophy for the shelf – is it beyond that? It’s overwhelming for a seven-time world champion.
At 40, Hamilton has seen almost everything Formula 1 can throw at him, but the last few weeks have been cruel. Belgium saw him both abandoned in Q1 and then came to Hungary, a race he owned eight times. Things get so bad that he admits he feels “useless” and may be better off looking elsewhere with Ferrari.
But that’s not all about him. The SF-25 is a tricky beast, with the ride height issue that forced the Ferrari to deploy a new suspension at the spa. It was phenomenal for Charles Leclair, who grabbed the podium and poles in Hungary. For Hamilton? The magic hasn’t started yet.
Still, this feels like the bottom of a rock, and the only way out is happening. After he finds his journey with the new set up of the car, some podiums are definitely on the cards. But a victory? That might have to wait. His first year in the red could end without one. That’s not what everyone was expecting in January.
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Duncan: One of the major disappointments of this 2025 season is the overwhelming form of that Ferrari Lewis Hamilton. What arose from being one of the most anticipated moves in recent memory quickly led to a scenario in which questions were asked about whether the seven-time champions in Formula 1 were approaching the end.
This season hasn’t been great, but it wasn’t the career-ending disaster that Paddock’s voice claims.
Hamilton is in the points on all race bars 1. He should be doing better than that, but at least he banks decent points. The Leclerc was generally fast, but should be given the car experience at the same time.
Ferrari and especially Fred Vasser continue to support Hamilton. Success in this venture is essential, and Ferrari knows that Hamilton has to do more to get the car where he can take over his talent.
There is arguably a great opportunity for Hamilton and Ferrari to the end of the season. And summer vacation came at the right time for both parties to actually delve into the big issues.
If you have one driver, you can go back to dig yourself out of the hole, it’s Lewis Hamilton.
Rachit Thukral: This is particularly tricky after the Hungarian Grand Prix rolls out. Hamilton has repeatedly shown his ability to rebound from set-offs, but it is also clear that it is unlikely that he will pass his absolute peak and recapture the same heroic as his prime.
But is that a problem? not much. Even the past Prime Hamiltons can make a major contribution to Ferrari in the final year of the current rules cycle.
Ferrari has a real shot by holding second in the championship. Hamilton’s consistent score is key to keeping Mercedes at bay. Some upcoming tracks should be suitable for the SF-25, and his first podium with Ferrari would be a big result for him.
The question mark is whether he can match the pace of Charles Leclerc as Monegasque was absolutely sensational this season. Hamilton’s goal is to close the year and look forward to next season as he can put an end to his troubles as his decline in dependence on the ground effects dates back to 2022.