Ferrari reminded of Lewis Hamilton commercial importance amid F1 woe

Ferrari have been reminded of the commercial importance of obtaining Lewis Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton’s performances on the F1 track have left much to be desired since he joined Ferrari from Mercedes.

Apart from a sprint race win in China, he has been luckless and his woes are only deepening.

Hamilton’s incredibly harsh self-criticism last time out at the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix spiked calls for him to retire early.

Bernie Ecclestone told him to call it quits while Martin Brundle wondered how he would cope with two more years of difficulty.

Ex-F1 driver and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Emmanuele Pirro has found a bright spot for Ferrari to focus on, though.

"Finding someone faster than Charles Leclerc is not easy,” he told Gazzetta.

“However, Hamilton's impact can go beyond performance.

“He can be influential behind the scenes, bring tranquility, a bit of English [cold-bloodedness].

“Then there is the whole commercial discourse, of course…”

Charles Leclerc impact on Lewis Hamilton noted

Hamilton was comprehensively outperformed by Leclerc in Hungary.

Leclerc’s drives to pole position then P4 in the grand prix left Hamilton admitting that his own problems could not be blamed on the SF-25.

"We are not seeing the best Hamilton, there is certainly room to straighten out the situation,” Pirro said.

"We can see a better version of Lewis, regardless of age. As you get older, you lose a bit of polish, of course, but Fernando Alonso is proof that even when you are older you can remain competitive.

“Sport is more complex than it is told: being in a comfort zone, both on a human and technical side, is very important. Hamilton has yet to find it in Ferrari.

“Lewis is a more sensitive man than he seems and the reaction in Hungary is proof of that.

"The desire of every driver to do well, whether this means fighting for the win or for a good placement depends on many factors, regardless of what has been achieved in the past.

“I'll give you an example: I won five times at Le Mans, yet the following year I had the same motivation as the first one. The same goes for Lewis."

Hamilton has won seven drivers’ titles but the all-time record eighth has never seemed further away than it does now.