James Hinchcliffe insists ‘no one agrees’ with Lewis Hamilton about one area of his Ferrari struggles

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Lewis Hamilton is desperate to kickstart his Ferrari career in a positive manner after Formula 1’s summer break.

The seven-time champion has spent the majority of the season battling a variety of issues with the SF25, which have contributed to him being sixth in the drivers’ championship.

When Hamilton was announced as a Ferrari driver last year, fans harboured dreams that he would be able to achieve a record eighth title.

Heading into the 2026 F1 regulations, that dream feels as far away as it has ever been. At Maranello, change is required quickly.

Even team boss Fred Vasseur has criticised an ‘extreme’ aspect of Hamilton and his approach to racing over the last few races, which may be holding him back.

He’s more aware than anyone that there is work to do. Hamilton will be delighted to hear could Ferrari benefit from a ‘massive’ change for next season, but their rivals could be helped by it too.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton urged to rediscover something ‘magical’ to repeat one Max Verstappen feat with Ferrari in 2026

James Hinchcliffe shares why ‘no one agrees’ with Lewis Hamilton’s one area of Ferrari struggle

Hamilton ‘lost’ one significant part of his F1 identity before he moved to Ferrari, by changing his helmet designs all the time.

His tweaks on the track have failed to have a positive effect either, with a variety of issues from power steering to brakes holding him up in 2025.

Just a few weeks ago, Hamilton called himself ‘useless’ in a damaging showing for his image just before the summer break.

James Hinchcliffe has fired back at those comments and insists that ‘no one agrees’ with the 40-year-old’s assessment of his talents.

“Lewis, we don’t know really where Lewis is at. Nobody thinks Lewis forgot how to drive. Nobody thinks Lewis is useless, except Lewis, but no one agrees with him,” he told the Red Flag Podcast.

“He’s obviously taking some time to get used to this new environment and the new car and everything. George [Russell] is up against a rookie, so it’s kind of tough to make those direct comparisons.

“I think George has had a pretty, I think he’s had a career [best] year, honestly. That’s saying something, considering he’s beat Lewis Hamilton head-to-head, in Lewis’ house.”

READ MORE: Juan Pablo Montoya thinks Ferrari are now ‘realising’ Lewis Hamilton was right all along about their 2025 F1 car

Ferrari’s big mistake when analysing Lewis Hamilton’s driving style

Hamilton’s move to the Scuderia was announced more than 18 months ago, in advance of the 2024 season.

It gave Carlos Sainz time to find another drive, eventually settling at Williams, and the team extra time to prepare for the Briton’s arrival.

A winter gamble on car concept failed and has left the team chasing performance all year long. But when can the errors be traced back to?

Ferrari made a big mistake when analysing Hamilton ahead of his arrival from Mercedes. They assumed his driving style was similar to new teammate Charles Leclerc, but they have since found out that is not the case.