Lewis Hamilton sent documents to Ferrari in “big push” for F1 title chase

Lewis Hamilton is making a “big push” to turn around Ferrari’s fortunes in Formula 1, revealing that he sent several documents to the team in the aftermath of the British Grand Prix.

Hamilton and Ferrari’s nascent partnership in 2025 has yet to yield the desired results so far, with a trio of fourth place results the best they’ve managed together in a Sunday race.

However, the seven-time world champion is determined to help Ferrari get back on track, making full use of the three-week break between Silverstone and Spa to push for changes.

Hamilton visited Maranello multiple times during that period, holding meetings not just with members of the F1 team, but also with Ferrari chairman John Elkann and CEO Benedetto Vigna.

Notably, he sent two documents to Ferrari ahead of his visit, outlining the changes he wanted to see—both in terms of the car and the overall team structure.

It marked the second time this year that Hamilton had taken that step, having done the same earlier in the season following the first batch of races with the team.

“I was at the factory a couple of days each week,” he explained. “We did preparations and naturally going over where we were in the previous race, the things that we needed to change. 

“I held a lot of meetings. So I've called on lots of lots of meetings with the heads of the team, so I've sat with John, Benedetto, and Fred [Vasseur] in several meetings. I've sat with the head of our car development, with Loic [Serra], also the heads of different departments talking about engine for next year, talking about front suspension for next year, talking about rear suspension for next year, things that you want, issues that I have with this car.

“I've sent documents, so I've done through the year. After the first few races, I did a full document for the team. Then during this break, I had another two documents that I sent in, so then I come in and want to address those.

“Some of it is structural adjustments that we need to make as a team in order to get better and all the areas that we want to improve. And then the other one was really about the car, the current issues that I have with this car. Some things that you do want to take on to the next year's car and some that you need to work on changing for next year.

“We tried the 2026 car for the first time and started work on that. 30 engineers come to the room and you sit in debrief with every single one of them. So big, big push and otherwise just training. Maybe a little bit too hard, bit heavy this weekend.”

Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari can win multiple championships

Hamilton reiterated that he has full faith in Ferrari's ability to return to title-winning form.

He explained that his recent efforts are motivated by a desire not to repeat the failures of past champions like Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, who also joined Ferrari with high hopes but ultimately fell short of delivering a championship.

Ferrari hasn't won a drivers' title since 2007, while it last won the constructors' championship in 2008.

“The reason for [preparing the documents] is that I see a huge amount of potential within this team,” he said. “The passion, nothing comes close to that. 

“It is a huge organisation and there's a lot of moving parts, and not all of them are firing on all the cylinders that need to be. That's ultimately why the team's not had the success that I think it deserves.

“I feel that it's my job to challenge absolutely every area, to challenge everybody in the team, particularly the guys that are at the top who are making the decisions. If you look at the team over the last 20 years, they've had amazing drivers.

“You've had Kimi [Raikkonen], you've had Fernando, you've had Sebastian, all world champions. However, they didn't win a world championship [with Ferrari, except Raikkonen]. And for me I refuse for that to be the case with me

“I'm going the extra mile, and obviously been very fortunate to have had experiences in two other great teams [McLaren and Mercedes]. And whilst things are for sure gonna be different because there's a different culture and everything. 

“If you take the same path all the time, you get the same results. So I'm just challenging certain things.”

Hamilton said Ferrari has been receptive to his feedback and is already acting on his suggestions.

“They have been incredibly responsive,” he said. “We've been improving in so many areas through marketing through everything we did continuously, delivering for sponsors, the way the engineers continue to work. 

“There's lots of work and improvements to be made, but very responsive. And I guess ultimately just trying to create allies within the organisation and get them geed up, get them pushing for. I'm here to win. 

Now 40, Hamilton admitted he doesn’t have time on his side as he chases an elusive eighth world title to become the most successful F1 driver in history by every metric.

“I don't have as much time as this one here [Kimi Antonelli], so it's crunch time,” he said. “I truly believe in the potential of this team. 

“I really, really believe that they can win multiple world championships moving forward. They already have an amazing legacy. But during my time, that's my sole goal.”