Some Ferrari staff ‘resented’ what Lewis Hamilton said about the team after joining from Mercedes

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Lewis Hamilton is trying to break the cycle at Ferrari. Since the team last won the drivers’ title, they have signed four world champions but watched their drought continue.

Fernando Alonso came agonisingly close to the championship in 2010 and 2012, but left empty-handed in 2014. Sebastian Vettel, his replacement, couldn’t sustain a season-long challenge to Hamilton and Mercedes, and Kimi Raikkonen wasn’t the same driver in his second stint at Maranello.

Hamilton says Ferrari have had ‘amazing’ drivers but need to ‘challenge’ themselves if they’re to win again. He ‘refuses’ to follow the same path as Vettel and co.

The seven-time champion has struggled in his first season, clearly playing second fiddle to Charles Leclerc, but hoped that his unique status within the sport would afford him greater influence.

Lewis Hamilton’s feedback documents were dismissed by some Ferrari employees

Hamilton sent documents of feedback to Ferrari in the months after he joined from Mercedes, where he’d won six titles over a 12-year dynasty. According to ESPN, this effectively amounted to an ‘audit’ of their methods.

He had taken ‘extensive notes’ on their operation and made recommendations on where they could improve. ‘Sources’ close to the team say these were ‘welcomed in some quarters’.

• READ MORE: Christian Horner has already told Ferrari their ‘biggest problem’ as he holds talks with iconic team

However, others apparently ‘resented his input’. They were ‘dismissive’ of his feedback, which doesn’t bode well for 2026.

One common criticism of Ferrari is that they’re set in their ways. They remain the most successful team in F1, but they have only had two different world champions since 1979 – Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher.

David Croft may have been right all along about the tension inside Ferrari

In a recent interview, Hamilton said Ferrari were ‘responding’ to his guidance. He expressed optimism for next year on the basis that he could influence car development for the first time.

But the internal reaction at Maranello raises doubts over whether the 2026 Ferrari will be a Hamilton-friendly car. The team may place more weight on Leclerc’s preferences given his superior performances and the fact that he’s raced in red since 2019.

David Croft had suggested that Ferrari weren’t listening to Hamilton, and perhaps he was right. If they haven’t taken heed of the aforementioned documents, it will be difficult for the 40-year-old to contain his frustration.

Hamilton’s Ferrari contract runs until the end of 2027, and he has repeatedly said he regards this as a long-term project.