Ex-F1 driver declares Lewis Hamilton stuck in same Mercedes-like loop at Ferrari
Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer suggested that Lewis Hamilton's struggles from Mercedes have continued at Ferrari this year.
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Lewis Hamilton (via Ferrari)
Lewis Hamilton decided to join Scuderia Ferrari in 2025 after a couple of dismal seasons at Mercedes. The seven-time world champion looked for a new environment as he struggled in the ground-effect era of Formula 1. However, things have not gone well for Hamilton. Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer insisted that the 40-year-old was getting back to the same situation he faced at the Silver Arrows.
In the first five rounds of the 2025 season, Lewis Hamilton has barely shown glimpses of good form. Apart from an impressive Chinese GP sprint win, the 40-year-old has not been in contention at the front of the grid. This has taken a toll on the seven-time world champion. With Hamilton confessing that he expects the entire debut season Ferrari to be painful.
Driver-turned-pundit Jolyon Palmer outlined how Lewis Hamilton had found himself in a position similar to his final couple of seasons at Mercedes. This remark is quite interesting as the F1 star was facing his career-worst slump at the Silver Arrows in the last three seasons.
It doesn’t feel that dissimilar to what was happening to him last year in the Mercedes though. He’d be looking good one minute and the next he’d just be scratching his head wondering where the actual speed has gone.
Jolyon Palmer said on F1 Nation podcast
While his switch to Ferrari was believed to be the dream move for Hamilton, which would bring back his old form. Unfortunately that has not been the case so far.
Lewis Hamilton ‘downbeat’ amid Ferrari disaster
The seven-time world champion had high ambitions for his stint at Maranello this year. Lewis Hamilton hoped to be the one who finally ends Ferrari’s infamous title drought. However, the 40-year-old has even struggled to match teammate Charles Leclerc so far. Hamilton is still finding it difficult to completely adjust to Ferrari machinery after spending over a decade at Mercedes.
Jolyon Palmer reckoned that Hamilton would be worried seeing the lack of performance apart from his sprint victory in Shanghai. The former Renault driver pointed out that the Ferrari star seemed to have lost motivation following the Saudi Arabian GP. Lewis Hamilton’s morale has been affected severely in recent races, with the 40-year-old not being rediscover his mojo.
I’d say the concern for Lewis is that the performance obviously isn’t there apart from that Sprint in China. He’s had quite a lot of races to look at the data, he’s working with the team and actually he was the most downbeat he’s been after Saudi still not understanding how he can extract more from the the car he’s got.
Jolyon Palmer explained
Certainly, Lewis Hamilton now faces immense pressure to perform for Ferrari. The seven-time world champion cannot take longer to adapt to a new team, as five races are more than enough when it comes to the pinnacle of motorsport. So far, the Scuderia has continued to support Hamilton amid increasing criticism from the media.
However, this support will inevitably dry up if the F1 star fails to show progress in the coming races. As such, it remains to be seen how things pan out for the sport’s most successful driver in the next few weeks.
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