Ex-F1 Driver Declares Lewis Hamilton Failed to ‘Bend Ferrari to His Will’

Former F1 driver Robert Doornbos asserted that Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari debut has failed to match expectations across the paddock.

Ex-F1 Driver Declares Lewis Hamilton Failed to ‘Bend Ferrari to His Will’

Lewis Hamilton (via Ferrari)

Lewis Hamilton made his dream move to Scuderia Ferrari this year. The seven-time world had massive ambitions for his journey at Maranello. Unfortunately, ten races in, and the Briton has virtually nothing to show for as he struggles to perform for the Italian team. Now, former F1 driver Robert Doornbos has expressed his disappointment over the 40-year-old’s situation.

The 2025 season has been a shock one for Hamilton since the start. The F1 star failed to adapt to the different settings at the Scuderia, resulting in difficulties on-track. Lewis Hamilton has just bagged a single Sprint win so far, with no fights for a race victory. The Briton has remained rather tight-lipped over the situation, with rumors surfacing that be might leave the team. Though, Hamilton has refuted such claims.

Robert Doornbos asserted that he had wished things would have gone far differently for the seven-time world champion. The former F1 driver asserted that he wanted to see Lewis Hamilton bring glory back to Maranello. However, Doornbos asserted that for such a scenario to unfold, Hamilton needed to have the power to bend Ferrari to his will, something which doesn’t seem to be happening right now.

I secretly hoped that there was a glimmer of hope that he could become champion at Ferrari. That he would be given the tools and would bend the team to his will.

Robert Doornbos told Ziggo Sport

Lewis Hamilton stuck in ‘terrible’ loop with race engineer

Ferrari is infamous for its blunders in the pit wall. Over the years, the team has lost out on several good results due to mistakes made in race strategy. Lewis Hamilton has got a taste of the way the Ferrari pit wall works, with a strained relationship with his race engineer Riccardo Adami. Things have gone to such an extent that Hamilton was met with radio silence after the Monaco GP. Albeit, Ferrari came out to clarify the situation.

Lewis Hamilton (via Ferrari)
Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari garage (via Scuderia Ferrari)

Robert Doornbos claimed that Hamilton and Adami are stuck in a vicious loop of bad communication. The 43-year-old asserted that it felt like the two were in a marriage, but instead of ups and downs, it was just continuous downs. This in turn is undoubtedly affecting the Briton’s performances as he struggles to get the right information from the pit wall.

The communication with his engineer is terrible. It’s like in any marriage, you can have your ups and downs, but there’s no up. It was only down.

Robert Doornbos added

Certainly, Lewis Hamilton could have never expected things to go bad to such an extent. The seven-time world champion will now be banking on the 2026 rule change for his title ambitions, essentially writing-off the current season. While Ferrari hopes to have a much stronger car next year, it remains to be seen how the Italian team manages the rest of the current season.

Fans are extremely disappointed with Lewis Hamilton’s debut campaign at Maranello. No matter what the Briton tries, he is unable to convert his efforts into decent results. This loop will be taking a toll on his morale, as such, the Tifosi would hope that Hamilton can soon find his way back to winning ways.

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