“Data and facts” brutal honesty handed to Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has been dealt “data and facts” that he is “underperforming”.

Hamilton’s first rounds as a Ferrari F1 driver have not gone to plan.

Although he had a small taste of glory by winning the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix, that was largely an outlier compared to his other below-par results.

Both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have found issues with the SF-25 this season.

But Hamilton, due to the hype surrounding his switch from Mercedes, has been noticeably disappointing.

“He is a realist,” David Coulthard told Channel 4. “That realism has made him one of the most successful drivers in the history of the sport, only equalled by Michael Schumacher in terms of championships.

“This continues to be an underperforming Lewis Hamilton.

“Those who can see nothing past him will say ‘who am I to say that?’

“I’m saying it based on data, based on facts.

“He knows that he needs more to get in front of Charles.”

Lewis Hamilton 'despondent' at Ferrari

Hamilton has been unable to better the result of his teammate Leclerc in any of the five grands prix so far this year.

His Saturdays have also been the source of frustration. Hamilton has delivered multiple downbeat interviews about his lack of pace in qualifying.

“Lewis has been despondent with the situation,” Billy Monger analysed for Channel 4.

“It was always going to take time to adapt to a new team after such a duration with Mercedes.

“The fact that Charles missed a big advantage to the top three [in qualifying in Saudi Arabia] suggests that Ferrari were on the backfoot in general. He can’t be too disappointed with that.”

Racing driver Monger added: “Coming into the season, the Lewis story was the one for everyone in F1 and outside of F1.

“It transcended the sport, that story. It was an iconic partnership.

“It feels so disappointing, especially after the glimpses of pace we saw in China when he won the sprint race.

“You almost feel sorry for both parties, at this point. It isn’t living up to expectations which was always going to hard considering how much it was hyped.”