Hamilton falls short of ex-teammate’s expectations amid difficult season

So far, it’s certainly not the start Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari had hoped for.

After leaving Mercedes at the end of a journey that made him the most successful driver of all time alongside Michael Schumacher, the seven-time world champion made the bold decision to take on a new challenge — chasing his eighth title in red.

On paper, all the right ingredients were there, especially considering how Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz battled McLaren for the Constructors’ title until the final race last year. But it didn’t take long for reality to look very different for Hamilton in this first part of 2025.

After twelve races and at the halfway point of the season, the former Mercedes driver has yet to step onto the podium with his new team — except for a sprint race win in China.

His best chance came at his home Grand Prix at Silverstone, but it was Nico Hulkenberg who ultimately came out on top.

''You always expect Lewis to be at the front, you expect him to be on a par with his team mate, if not better, but we’ve not seen that this year,'' Jenson Button, who raced alongside Hamilton at McLaren, said via F1.com.

However, the 2009 world champion is well aware of what his former teammate is capable of — and how he can turn things around at any moment.