Ex-F1 Driver Declares Lewis Hamilton ‘Lost His Identity’ at Ferrari

Former F1 driver Robert Doornbos gave a harsh reality check to Lewis Hamilton amid Ferrari struggles.

Ex-F1 Driver Declares Lewis Hamilton ‘Lost His Identity’ at Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton (via Getty)

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Lewis Hamilton‘s Ferrari debut has been nothing short of disappointing. The seven-time world champion had high ambitions for his switch to the Scuderia. Unfortunately, the Briton barely has anything to show for, after the first half of the season. Now, former F1 driver Robert Doornbos has insisted that Hamilton might be losing his identity amid these struggles.

The seven-time world champion has failed to adapt to his new team after spending over a decade at Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton has constantly been outperformed by teammate Charles Leclerc. Things have reached such a point that the Briton has even called himself ‘absolutely useless’ and asked for the team to potentially replace him in the near future.

Robert Doornbos pointed out that a driver like Fernando Alonso can adapt to any situation. The Spanish driver even managed to get a decent run at the Hungarian GP despite facing health issues. On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton has a different way of performing. Doornbos admitted that while Hamilton fans might not like hearing this, it seems that the 40-year-old has completely lost his identity at Maranello.

Alonso delivers just fine. If he smells a bit of competitiveness in the car, he is there – especially after such a comeback with back pain in FP1 [during the GP of Hungary]. I think it’s a different story with Lewis. And the Lewis fans won’t like that, but it’s almost like he has lost his own identity for a moment.

Robert Doornbos told Motorsport.com

Lewis Hamilton needs to look back at his F1 achievements

Lewis Hamilton is statistically the most successful driver in the history of Formula 1. The Briton tied with Michael Schumacher on seven world championships, but has far more race wins to his name. However, the 2025 campaign is arguably the worst of Hamilton’s career so far. The 40-year-old has not even managed a single podium in the first 12 races. Albeit, he did win the Sprint at the Chinese GP.

Lewis Hamilton (via Getty)
Lewis Hamilton (via Getty)

Robert Doornbos suggested that maybe it’s time for the seven-time world champion to go back and take a look at what he has achieved in the sport. He claimed that Hamilton had indeed changed Formula 1 with his dominance back in his glory days. Doornbos pointed out that Lewis Hamilton could’ve been an eight time world champion if not for the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi GP. The former F1 driver wondered if the Ferrari star never moved on from that race.

He should go through the books and see what he has accomplished. This man has changed the sport forever. He was almost the all time great with the eighth title with one lap to go in Abu Dhabi, but it didn’t come. And it seems like he never really got over that blow.

Robert Doornbos added

Certainly, Lewis Hamilton is far more talented than what he has shown this year. A host of factors might’ve hampered his performance, particularly shifting to a new team. The SF25 is not an easy car to drive either, making things even more challenging. The seven-time world champion still has half of the season remaining to rediscover his mojo. The Tifosi would hope that the F1 star can at least grab a couple of podiums after the summer break ends.

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