Rival F1 engineers think they know the problem that’s wrecked Lewis Hamilton’s first Ferrari season

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Lewis Hamilton heads to the British Grand Prix this weekend with little hope of victory. The Ferrari car doesn’t appear fast enough to contend.

Hamilton has won nine times at Silverstone, a Formula 1 record for a single circuit. He scored an emotional win there last season to end a two-and-a-half-year drought at Mercedes.

But Hamilton is currently on a 13-race podium drought. Teammate Charles Leclerc has bagged four this term, but barring the unique Monaco weekend, hasn’t come close to winning.

Hamilton may need a repeat of last year’s chaotic weather conditions if he is to have any chance. Ferrari are holding out hope of standing on the top step this year, but they’ve surely written off any grander ambitions.

Ferrari had ‘period of darkness’ after Enrico Cardile left

Ferrari took a big risk with their 2025 car, and it appears to have backfired. Despite coming extremely close to winning the championship, they overhauled their concept.

The headline change was the move from pull-rod to push-front suspension. Enrico Cardile built Ferrari’s 2025 vision then left for Aston Martin.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, this plunged the team into ‘six months of darkness’. Chassis expert Loic Serra had yet to join from Mercedes, leaving team boss Fred Vasseur as the de facto technical director.

Engineers at rival teams believe the absence of a specialist ‘at a delicate moment’ for car development may be the origin of Ferrari’s profound problems this season. They feel that the ‘suffering’ could have been avoided without that lengthy ‘transition period’.

Ferrari have hinted at the area where Lewis Hamilton needs to improve

After a double disqualification at the Chinese GP, Ferrari were forced to increase their ride height. This protects the underbody from excessive wear, but naturally haemorrhages downforce.

What’s more, Ferrari have had to ask their drivers to lift and coast, again to preserve the plank and reduce overheating. These instructions continued in the Austrian GP despite a floor upgrade.

Hamilton started fourth in Spielberg, his highest grid slot as a Ferrari driver. But he couldn’t challenge Charles Leclerc on full fuel.

While he has ‘everything under control’ in qualifying now, Ferrari believe Hamilton can improve in the races. He trails his teammate 9-1 in the Sunday head-to-head.