David Croft has seen signs that Ferrari management aren’t listening to ‘desperate’ Lewis Hamilton

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Lewis Hamilton’s form at Ferrari has arguably improved since the summer break. But David Croft is adamant that the current situation is ‘not good enough’.

Having outperformed Charles Leclerc in the Sprint segment of the weekend, Hamilton matched his best Ferrari result with fourth in Sunday’s US Grand Prix.

Hamilton has now broken an unfortunate record as the driver with the most points in a season without scoring a podium. He still has five races to shed that tag.

The seven-time world champion has urged his critics not to judge him on this season. Insisting that it’s a long-term project despite his age, Hamilton has been sending feedback documents to Ferrari calling for structural, operational and mechanical changes.

David Croft thinks Lewis Hamilton is ‘running out of patience’ with Ferrari

Speaking on Sky Sports’ F1 Show podcast, David Croft said Hamilton is ‘desperate’ to bring back the ‘glory’ days at Ferrari. The team haven’t won a world championship since 2008 (they lifted the constructors’ trophy as the British driver celebrated his first title).

But according to Croft, Hamilton doesn’t feel the team are receptive to his advice, even after seeing him build a dynasty at Mercedes in the 2010s. This narrative could gain more and more traction heading into 2026.

Ferrari have often been criticised for being set in their ways, loyal to a culture that delivered huge success in the early 2000s but no longer seems to be working.

• READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton’s heartbreaking unheard radio when he realised he would miss out on the podium in Austin

“It’s not good enough for Lewis Hamilton,” Croft said. “I think there are signs that Lewis is running out of patience a little bit with his efforts to try and help the team improve, and change some of their procedures to bring improvement, and not being listened to.

“That, to me, could become a story more and more down the line. Lewis is desperate to try and help Ferrari regain their glory years, but at the moment he doesn’t feel he’s being listened to by management and those above management.”

How Lewis Hamilton’s interviews have changed since the summer break

Danica Patrick said Hamilton sounded ‘defeated’ after qualifying eighth for the Sprint, as did teammate Leclerc. But his tone was markedly more optimistic later in the weekend.

Hamilton has become more positive in the media in the second half of the season, having suggested shortly before the summer break that he was ‘useless’ and needed replacing. But he’s also held Ferrari to account when he feels they haven’t executed weekends to the required standard.

Damon Hill says Ferrari must give Hamilton a ‘smell of victory’ so he can ‘get out of bed’ feeling motivated. It’s perhaps no coincidence that his best performance of the year came in the Shanghai Sprint, the only moment where the Scuderia looked like the fastest team.