Ferrari told why Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will never take them to the ‘highest levels’

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Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s woes with Ferrari in the 2025 season “will not change” under F1’s 2026 regulations due to what neither driver offers the Scuderia.

The pride of Italy have endured a miserable campaign this year, so they joined many of their rivals in shifting their focus to the 2026 F1 season. Next year will see a major overhaul of the technical regulations, with F1 introducing new engine, aerodynamic, chassis and tyre rules.

Never before has the rulebook been refreshed to such an extent as the 2026 F1 regulations, for which Ferrari will also supply engines to Haas and the new Cadillac team. The Scuderia’s 2026 car will also be their first challenger that technical director Loic Serra led the design of.

Serra joined Ferrari too late to have his fingerprints on the SF-25, with which Leclerc has all five of the Maranello outfit’s Grand Prix podiums so far this season. Ferrari are also the only one of F1’s top four teams without a win in 2025, with Hamilton yet to finish higher than P4.

Ferrari will never improve their car with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s feedback

Serra’s biggest impact on the SF-25 is the rear suspension upgrade that Ferrari debuted at Spa in July, which has been proven to be a mistake. He led the decision to design the update instead of aerodynamic upgrades, but their car no longer improves with any set-up changes.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1’s 2026 engine and aero regulations

Former Tyrrell and Williams F1 driver Derek Daly also feels Ferrari have struggled to improve the SF-25 as Hamilton and Leclerc do not offer the Scuderia the feedback top teams require. Daly believes both are “instant reflex” drivers, but Ferrari need a driver who can feel issues.

Daly told RacingNews365: “Every team that operates at the highest levels, in my opinion, has two drivers that are opposite types of skills.

“Instant reflex [drivers] drive the wheels off anything, anytime. Whenever they’re in the car, the car is going as fast as it can possibly go.

“Then you have a feel-sensitive driver, who can read it, report on it [and] give feedback. The engineers rely on him, and he can develop a fast car.

“One pushes and feeds off the other. Right now, Ferrari have two instant reflex guys. I don’t believe either driver is giving the feedback to the engineers to build a faster car, and it will not change next year.

“So, with those two brilliantly fast, instant reflex guys, I don’t believe they will ever get enough feedback to develop and build cars that are fast enough.”

Ferrari will learn the impact of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s feedback with the 2026 F1 regulations

Ferrari will not learn whether or not Daly’s belief that Hamilton and Leclerc as a driver line-up are not the right fit to develop a car is true until 2026. The Scuderia stopped developing the SF-25 early on, with their rear suspension upgrade back in July their last major update.

The Maranello squad did not want to waste critical wind tunnel and R&D time trying to get more out of the SF-25 at the expense of next year’s challenger. But Ferrari focusing on F1’s 2026 regulations made 2025 “less exciting” for Hamilton, as he could not develop their car.

So, what impact Ferrari having two reflex drivers in Hamilton and Leclerc actually has on the development of their car will not be seen until their 2026 challenger hits a track. The first pre-season test is behind closed doors at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya next January.