Ex-Red Bull driver pinpoints Lewis Hamilton’s ‘worrying’ Ferrari trend
Karun Chandhok insists that Lewis Hamilton has failed to be consistent at Scuderia Ferrari this year.
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Lewis Hamilton (via Ferrari)
Lewis Hamilton‘s Ferrari debut has been nothing short of a nightmare. The 40-year-old was expected to return the Italian constructor to its lost glory in Formula 1. However, Hamilton’s performance in the first five races has remained extremely mediocre. Rumors have come up of the seven-time champion seeking an early retirement from the team. Now, ex-Red Bull driver Karun Chandhok has pointed out the ‘worries’ of the Briton’s woeful Ferrari stint.
Lewis Hamilton could only achieve a sprint race win in China despite the positive-looking performance of the Ferrari chassis. The Briton is also heavily outscored by his teammate Charles Leclerc at Maranello. A majority of the people believe that the 40-year-old is now set for an early departure from the Italian outfit if the team’s form does not improve anytime soon. Moreover, Karun Chandhok highlighted the ‘worries’ of the Briton’s glimpse of positive performance.
Karun Chandhok believes that Hamilton’s sprint win in China is the ‘outlier’. This means that the Briton might not be able to replicate a similar performance in the coming races. While there might be some truth in Chandhok’s claim, the 40-year-old is consistently working hard to score well in a struggling car. The 2025 season has just begun, and it would not be fair to write off the seven-time champion’s chances so soon.
The worry for me is that it [China sprint performance] is now becoming the outlier.
Karun Chandhok told the Sky F1 podcast
Chandhok furthered his comments and reckoned that the declining trend of Lewis Hamilton’s performances with Ferrari was a cause of ‘worry’. The Indian recalled the Australian GP, where the Briton was just two-tenths off Leclerc. Ever since, the 40-year-old has continued to deteriorate in performance and fall desperately behind not only the leading pack but also his Monegasque counterpart.
The trend is the worry for me. In Australia, Lewis was [two-tenths] off Charles. In Japan, it became three-tenths. In Bahrain it became .59. In Saudi, it became over six-tenths.
Karun Chandhok added
Karun Chandhok warns Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari stint ‘going the wrong way’
Lewis Hamilton hasn’t even achieved a podium finish this season to consider his Ferrari move a success yet. The 40-year-old is still trying to remain positive about his chances and achieve any sort of improvement in his results. Hamilton’s incessant qualifying struggles seem to have crept up this year as well against the superior qualifier in Charles Leclerc.
Karun Chandhok made a shocking claim about Hamilton’s current state at Ferrari. The Indian believes that the 40-year-old’s gap to Leclerc on the grid should keep reducing over the races. However, as depicted by the results, the seven-time champion is desperately falling behind his teammate and doesn’t seem to improve either. Hence, Chandhok asserted that Hamilton’s life at Ferrari was going the wrong way ever since he debuted in 2025.
For a driver who we’re hoping was getting more and more accustomed to life at Ferrari, that gap should have been closing down, but it’s going the wrong way.
Karun Chandhok noted
Ferrari will have to find big improvements in their car immediately in order to retain Lewis Hamilton’s interest in the team beyond his contract. The 40-year-old can contend for the championship for the Prancing Horse only if they provide him with the right car. Moreover, the rivals continue to grow in pace as Maranello seems to constantly lag behind in either pace or strategy. Hamilton has aimed to achieve his record-breaking eighth championship victory with the team, which seems like a far-fetched goal now.
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