Ex-Ferrari F1 boss casts brutal Lewis Hamilton at ‘end of his career’ verdict

Ex-Ferrari F1 boss Mattia Binotto thinks his former team signed Lewis Hamilton too late and believes he is now “at the end of his career”.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton is struggling to adapt to life at Ferrari following his blockbuster transfer from Mercedes and has been comprehensively outperformed by teammate Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton finished a disappointing sixth (only after Max Verstappen’s penalty) at the Spanish Grand Prix and was left visibly dejected after the race, which he labelled as the “worst I have ever experienced”.

Other than claiming an impressive pole position and victory in the China sprint race, Hamilton’s first campaign with Ferrari has been difficult. He is yet to score a grand prix podium while Leclerc has taken three in the first nine races of 2025.

Binotto, who is now the boss of Sauber/Audi, previously questioned Ferrari’s decision to sign Hamilton and has doubled down on his stance.

“Hamilton is a certain age,” Binotto told Italian publication Automoto.it.

“Ferrari took him when he was at the end of his career.

“The ideal would have been to be able to have it a few years earlier.”

However, Binotto still believes Ferrari can turnaround what has been a hugely underwhelming campaign so far.

“It’s clear that the performances on track and the results aren’t where they’d like them to be right now,” Binotto added.

”But I know every single member of that team very well, and I know they’re talented, strong, and capable.

“They’ll be able to improve the car and do well in the future. And I believe Ferrari can still enjoy some success this year.”

Is Lewis Hamilton lost?

Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert also recently delivered a brutal verdict on Hamilton, claiming the 40-year-old Briton has lost his way.

“It just looks like Lewis Hamilton is lost, really lost,” Herbert told InstantWithdrawalBettingSites. “I don’t know if the raw pace that he’s always had throughout his career is there anymore.

“I thought, with the pure racing skill Hamilton had, he’d be able to drive around any problems with the car but he seems stuck in a hole.

“It’s not nice to see. It’s not the first time we’ve seen it in the sport, though. Nigel Mansell won his championship in 1992, went to America in 1993, came back in 1994 and it didn’t work anymore for him.

“It happened with Michael Schumacher too, when he had his break and came back, then he wasn’t the same Schumacher as before.

“You’re always going to have your peak and an end of your peak. It’s not nice to see. I know Charles Leclerc is not happy with the car either, but at least he’s getting podium finishes consistently.

“There have been a couple of poor decisions in Ferrari’s strategy and poor communication over the radio, Hamiltondoesn’t have the synergy with his engineer that he needs. He hasn’t found his comfort zone since the sprint win in China.”

Herbert suggested that Ferrari would now be better throwing all their weight behind Leclerc.

"Sometimes you don’t realise when it’s not as easy as it was before, but when you look across the garage and your teammate is outperforming you, then it may click," he added. 

“The greats of the sport, at their peak, get the best out of their car. Max Verstappen is doing it right now. Hamilton just can’t seem to get the extra he needs anymore. He won’t understand why he can’t, because he’ll feel like he should be able to. But, Leclerc is outperforming you in the same car.

“Leclerc is only going to grow and is in control of Ferrari’s future. He’s the guy they can rely on, Ferrari can’t rely on Lewis Hamilton at this point. It’s horrible to say but it’s the truth.”