Ferrari chief rubbishes what he’s heard people say about Lewis Hamilton’s frustrating 2025 F1 season

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Lewis Hamilton has endured an underwhelming first season with Ferrari, and head of track engineering Matteo Togninalli admits the frustration is “palpable” in Maranello.

But Togninalli does not agree with everything he has heard people outside of the team claim about the problems that Hamilton has endured since he joined Ferrari from Mercedes at the start of 2025. The 40-year-old has faced an almost endless run of woe in red so far this year.

Hamilton could not stop pinching himself upon joining Ferrari, as his move to Maranello was the realisation of a childhood dream. But 11 months down the line, Hamilton admits that he is living a “nightmare” at Ferrari, having struggled to adapt to their methods and also their car.

Such has been the extent of his plight in red that Hamilton has called 2025 his “worst season ever” in F1, and the record books are set to reflect it. The seven-time champion is on course to pen his worst points total under the scoring system used since 2010, with only 152 so far.

Matteo Togninalli claims Lewis Hamilton’s relationship with Ferrari is “extremely” positive

Hamilton is also yet to get a Grand Prix podium for Ferrari, let alone win a race, having never before failed to earn at least one rostrum in any season of his 19-year career. He also cannot finish higher than P6 in the F1 drivers’ standings and teammate Charles Leclerc is fixed in P5.

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But while Togninalli confesses that there is immense frustration in Maranello about Ferrari’s failure to fight for a title in 2025, he rejects any suggestion that Hamilton’s relationship with the Scuderia is anything other than “extremely” positive after a year he has spent adjusting.

“Changing teams after 10 years is difficult,” Togninalli explained to Automoto.it. “We haven’t yet achieved the goal of fighting for the championship, so the frustration is palpable.

“But the relationship with Lewis is extremely positive. After 10 months, we have already built a strong bond. The external perception of the situation is worse than the reality.”

Lewis Hamilton’s confidence is shot to pieces following a run of woe with Ferrari

Hamilton spent 12 years at Mercedes, following a six-year spell with McLaren at the start of his F1 career. His move to Maranello in 2025 thus meant the 40-year-old faced a big change compared to what he was accustomed to, as he joined a non-British outfit for the first time.

But Hamilton has struggled to adjust to the different ways that Ferrari go about their efforts, and he has compared their ways with what he experienced at Mercedes. Hamilton has given Ferrari documents with the changes he wants them to make to become a success again, too.

Highlights have been very thin and far between for the record 105-time Grand Prix winner in the 2025 F1 season. In fact, the only real highlights of his season so far came when Hamilton won the F1 Sprint in China back in March and later finished P3 in the Sprint in Miami in May.

Hamilton’s confidence now appears to be shot to pieces, as well, following his miserable run of results that fuelled his claims about 2025 being the worst year of his career. The 104-time polesitter has only finished one of the last 10 Grands Prix higher than P6, with P4 in the USA.