Juan Pablo Montoya ‘surprised’ by Lewis Hamilton Ferrari issue that ‘isn’t normal’ in modern F1

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Juan Pablo Montoya has expressed his surprise with one Lewis Hamilton issue from the Singapore Grand Prix that he says ‘isn’t normal’ in the modern era of Formula 1.

The seven-time world champion has had to contend with a number of issues during his maiden season with Ferrari.

After the news was announced that Hamilton would be making the switch from the Silver Arrows to the Prancing Horse, many thought it would be the start of a partnership that F1 fans could have only dreamt about in the past.

However, the season has descended into somewhat of a nightmare for the 40-year-old, as he continues to add results to the worst podium drought of his career in the pinnacle of motorsport, and the final laps of the Singapore Grand Prix offered no respite.

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Juan Pablo Montoya was ‘surprised’ by Lewis Hamilton’s brake issues in Singapore

Hamilton suffered from a brake failure in the dying laps of the race around the Marina Bay Street Circuit, and was forced to try and work around the crucial issue to bring home some valuable points for the Italian constructor.

Holding a lead of nearly 45 seconds to Fernando Alonso behind, the seven-time world champion had to resort to some questionable tactics to make sure he finished ahead of his rival, who ended up crossing the line just half a second behind him.

Speaking on a recent episode of the MontoyAS podcast, former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya highlighted the rarity of the issue that Hamilton experienced in a discussion over the trajectory of Ferrari’s season.

Asked if he thinks the Prancing Horse have regressed during 2025, the Colombian replied, “No, I think Ferrari is in the same place they were, and I think Ferrari is very focused on next year.

“Honestly, I like that Lewis is improving. Lewis made it clear ahead of Charles. Lewis looked competitive all weekend; in the race, he did a good job.

“He ran out of brakes, which surprised me. Nowadays, that happening isn’t normal, unless he had some dirt clogging it, but that surprised me.”

Hamilton horrified F1 pundit Christian Danner as he continued to finish the final couple of laps with the failed brakes, and the Brit was slapped with a five-second penalty for cutting corners to ensure he stayed ahead of Alonso.

READ MORE: F1 fans are all saying the same thing after Lewis Hamilton handed ‘crazy’ Singapore Grand Prix penalty

Juan Pablo Montoya also recalled one demand of Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes that ‘doesn’t exist’ at Ferrari

Montoya also brought attention to the radio messages that have been frequently received on the Ferrari pit wall from the #44 car.

Hamilton is regularly asking for help from his race engineers in certain instances, which have left the Ferrari personnel puzzled over the best course of action.

Montoya noted that several other F1 drivers are in discussions with their race engineers over certain issues, such as brake bias, which is something Ferrari lacks with the 40-year-old.

“This is kind of what Lewis has been asking Ferrari for, that doesn’t exist there,” Montoya told his co-host on MontoyAS. “I think Lewis was used to his old team helping him a lot, and remember, Lewis always says, ‘But what need to do? I need help, I need help.’

“The other thing I saw a lot this weekend is that Ferrari was having big problems with rear tyre temperatures, and they were asking them to lift and coast, which is lifting before braking – you go full throttle, release the accelerator, roll, roll, roll, and brake, and that cools the tyres a lot.

“So, all those things, and I remember because Leclerc was saying, ‘Well, tell me when we recover the tyres so I can start pushing.’ And they told him, ‘You can start, but little by little, to protect the tyres.’ And as soon as he pushed, they overheated again.”

There’s no doubt that this can be one of the factors why Hamilton has found it so difficult to gel with his new racing outfit. Coming from a team where he spent 12 years of his career in and around the podium positions, it’s a stark reminder of the difficulties of being an F1 driver.