Lewis Hamilton urged not to regret Ferrari switch despite 2025 setbacks

Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert believes Lewis Hamilton shouldn’t regret his switch from Mercedes to Ferrari despite a challenging start to the 2025 season.

Hamilton endured a difficult weekend in Saudi Arabia last time out, finishing over 30 seconds behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.

It led to a frank admission from the seven-time world champion that there’s no quick “fix” and that it could be a long season.

Hamilton has shown flashes of brilliance in 2025, winning the sprint race in China from pole position.

However, overall, he’s been out-classed by Leclerc.

Ferrari have often been the fourth-fastest team this year and sit behind Mercedes in the constructors’ championship.

Despite that, Herbert doesn’t think Hamilton should regret leaving Mercedes as he needed a “refresh”.

“Last season, the Mercedes was so inconsistent, sometimes it could win races, then struggle to get anywhere near the podium. Lewis Hamilton, I felt, was also losing motivation at the team and was frustrated,” Herbert told AceOdds.

“The one who always found motivation was Ayrton Senna. He would come back later than most for testing and then found himself winning championships. Hamilton needed that refresh at Ferrari.

“After a difficult race in Australia, Hamilton’s season at Ferrari looked really impressive and promising in China with the Sprint win, but since then, it’s not really clicked. Charles Leclerc is having a better, consistent season with some strong performances, but at the moment,  the Ferrari is just about getting podiums.

“It’s not in a bad shape. They’re the fourth or third-best team, they need to make a jump to the next level to compete with the McLaren and Red Bull. Lewis will need to be at his best to beat Charles this season, the pressure is on.”

Herbert surprised Hamilton hasn’t ‘settled in’

Herbert admitted that he was surprised Hamilton wasn’t 100 per cent to speed yet, with the 40-year-old still struggling with the adaptation process at Ferrari.

Hamilton has spoken about how different everything is at Ferrari, from the brakes to the delivery from the power unit.

“There is an element of settling in for Hamilton, but I thought he would have gotten past that by now and shown he’s quicker than Charles Leclerc. It just hasn’t happened yet,” Herbert added.

“Leclerc came into Ferrari and took the team away from Sebastian Vettel, Hamilton hasn’t quite done that yet, and Leclerc is still controlling the situation with his consistency and speed. Hamilton is consistently eighth or ninth at the moment.

“I think if Hamilton stayed at Mercedes, George Russell would be making it hard for Lewis as Leclerc is right now. The move to Ferrari was the correct decision for a new start, but will we see the Lewis of old? That’s in his hands.”