Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari backed for epic comeback despite "madness"

Lewis Hamilton has been told that an F1 grand prix win for Ferrari is still on the cards despite a troubled campaign.

Hamilton ended the first part of the season at his lowest ebb, muttering that he was ‘useless’ and telling Ferrari to replace him.

He returns at this weekend’s F1 Dutch Grand Prix, having issued a statement about perseverance.

Ferrari’s recent bright sparks have come through Hamilton’s teammate Charles Leclerc who grabbed pole position in Hungary, then threatened a podium finish.

But the team are competitive enough to end the 2025 season with an F1 grand prix victory under their belts, they have been told.

“I got carried away after Canada and said ‘they will win a race’. I am standing by it! There will be good tracks for them,” commentator Jolyon Palmer told the F1 Nation podcast.

“At least they had performance. It looks likely that they limped their car home after going too aggressive on ride height.

“But they showed an aggressive search for performance, and got pole position at a circuit which isn’t among their favourites.

“I don’t think Zandvoort will be there for Ferrari, but I look to Monza and Singapore as better chances with the low-speed corners.

“They are on an upturn since bringing the suspension upgrade and floor upgrade. You can see the performance is getting there.

“Charles is getting a lot out of it, towards the podium. Lewis needs to get a rhythm back, find form. I think he has been unlucky, and not executed at the right time.”

Alex Jacques added: “I think there are races where they could be back in the mix.

“They are competitive in Vegas. Singapore, you have to ratchet the ride height up.

“Anywhere where you have to lift the car up, they could be back in business. This is the madness of the car!

“They know its effective but they just can’t run it closely enough to the ground which is a strange situation.

“They always go well at Monza, no matter what year they’re having.”

Lewis Hamilton’s big problem is current F1 regulations

Lewis Hamilton has notoriously found the ongoing ground-effect cars challenging.

Next year, the 2026 F1 regulations give him a fresh start and a new reason for optimism.

“He just hasn’t got along with this regulation of car in qualifying,” Jacques said.

“The race performance hasn’t been miles away. He isn’t miles back from one of the best qualifiers in Leclerc.

“They’ve just got to give him a feel behind the wheel in qualifying that he hasn’t had in these regulations. That is key. Because, if you can put him in the top six, it’s a totally different story for the rest of the year.”

Jacques said about Hamilton’s struggles with ground-effect cars: “It just hasn’t favoured his all-action late-braking style in the same way it wiped out Daniel Ricciardo.

“The evidence shows us that you are more competitive at 30 than at 40. There is the natural sporting depreciation of a driver from their absolute best. Twin it with a regulation set.

“He has the most pole positions ever, but one pole position in the time that we’ve adopted this regulation rule-set. George Russell had more in the Mercedes era.

“If he can find a qualifying performance I think the race pace is still there.”

‘That is why Ferrari signed’ Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton has received optimistic encouragement from ex-F1 driver Palmer.

“In 2023 Hamilton was brilliant, he was in the top three of the championship. That is why Ferrari signed him,” Palmer said.

“In 2023, and the second half of 2022, we saw the best of Hamilton.

“Last year he had already signed for Ferrari when he turned up to race his last season for Mercedes so you wonder where his heart was at.

“This year has been tumultuous. Moving to Italy and driving for Ferrari, so many drivers have done it in the past. It’s not unprecedented.

“Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso didn’t win a title but were very good Ferrari drivers. That’s where Hamilton can get to.

“He is up against Leclerc who is frighteningly quick, exceptionally fast, and underrated in race trim. He is a top driver.

“At Silverstone, I still think Hamilton could have got pole. He made a mistake which cost him the margin that was there for pole.

“At Spa, on paper it was a complete disaster, but in sprint quali he was solidly up on Leclerc but had a spin. The pace was still there. In [grand prix quali] he cut the corner and lost a solid lap time.

“In Budapest, he was missing a couple of tenths. Suddenly they found a sweet spot when Hamilton was out, Leclerc got pole. It’s feasible that Hamilton could have been top five in qualifying.

“His head is so downbeat because the results are abject for a seven-time champ. But the potential is so much better than the miserable results look.

“We are not used to Lewis making mistakes which shows the pressure he’s under, in one-lap pace.”