Lewis Hamilton has now done something that not even Michael Schumacher did at Ferrari to address his ‘bleak reality’

Follow us on Google Discover

Lewis Hamilton is desperate to find a way out of his problems, so he has resorted to telling Ferrari something that they had never heard even from Michael Schumacher.

The 40-year-old realised his childhood dream of being a Ferrari Formula 1 driver at the start of this term. But since the days when Hamilton could not stop pinching himself after joining Ferrari from Mercedes, the seven-time F1 champion has faced a nightmare campaign so far.

Never before he raced in red had Hamilton failed to record a Grand Prix podium finish in the first 10 rounds of an F1 season. Yet the Briton is now 12 rounds into 2025 without a podium ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, where he won for the final time with Mercedes last season.

His 103 points through 12 rounds also represent Hamilton’s lowest tally since F1 adopted its current point-scoring system in 2010. Of the Stevenage-born star’s points, he has also taken 14 from F1 Sprint events after Hamilton won the Sprint in China and secured third in Miami.

Lewis Hamilton has asked Ferrari to make structural changes even Michael Schumacher did not request

Ferrari signed Hamilton to a £39m a season contract through 2026, which offers an option for 2027, in the hope that the Briton and Charles Leclerc can guide the Scuderia to their first F1 drivers’ championship since 2007 and to their first constructors’ title since the 2008 term.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family

But Hamilton has seen a number of problems in Maranello that extend beyond the struggles he has faced with Ferrari’s car. And Corriere della Sera now reports that Hamilton’s ‘desire to emerge as a reformist leader’ at Ferrari clashes with the ‘bleak reality’ he has thus far faced.

So, in his desperate bid to help get Ferrari where the Scuderia need to be to win titles again, Hamilton has not held back in offering endless suggestions. Ferrari had not even ‘heard’ the level of changes that Hamilton wants while Schumacher drove for them from 1996 to 2006.

At least publicly, Schumacher never shared that the German had told Ferrari to address the extent of areas of weakness that Hamilton has just voiced in Maranello from an operational standpoint. Hamilton is not stopping himself from offering advice beyond improving his car.

Hamilton has kept a notebook where he lists all of the differences the seven-time champion has spotted at Ferrari compared to his time at Mercedes from 2013 to 2024. His notes even include any complicated instructions, technical judgments and summaries of their meetings.

Lewis Hamilton has sent Ferrari ‘documents’ listing all of the changes he wants to see

Hamilton is not the first Ferrari driver to keep a notebook of the issues that they have met at the Scuderia. Sebastian Vettel also kept a book with his issues, and Corriere della Sera adds that Ferrari’s engineers ‘feared’ the German’s ‘meticulousness’ notes and ‘endless briefings’.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

If Ferrari’s engineers feared Vettel, it remains to be seen how they react to Hamilton’s words of wisdom as he compares them to Mercedes. The Briton won six of his Schumacher record-equalling seven titles, 84 of his 105 Grand Prix wins and 77 of his 104 poles with Mercedes.

Hamilton has used a notebook to explain his problems at Ferrari since the Briton’s first week in Maranello this January. The Stevenage-born star saw it as a way to help him explain issues to Riccardo Adami, as he met a new race engineer as Peter Bonnington stayed at Mercedes.

But Hamilton has revealed he has sent ‘documents’ to Ferrari’s staff with the improvements he wants them to make in order to improve. These include changes to their car for the 2025 season, F1’s 2026 regulations and ‘structural adjustments’ to the ways the Scuderia operate.

The 40-year-old revealed at Spa that his reports have included requests about Ferrari’s front and rear suspension and other ‘issues’ he has faced with their car. Hamilton first submitted a document after the early rounds and another two in the break after the British Grand Prix.