Lewis Hamilton backed by rival team boss to fight for wins again: “He’s always great”
You’ll see, with the new cars, Hamilton will be back in the fight for victory; he’s always great.”
Alpine F1 advisor Flavio Briatore has backed Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari to fight for victories again in 2026.
Ferrari are the only team inside the top four in the 2025 F1 constructors’ standings without a victory.
Hamilton hasn’t even finished on the podium so far in Ferrari colours.
His only top-three finish was in the China sprint race, where he was victorious.
Overall, the Ferrari-Hamilton partnership hasn’t lived up to expectations on either side.
The SF-25 has no obvious strengths unlike its predecessors - the 2023 car was outstanding in qualifying, while the 2024 challenger was better in races.
Hamilton has been dismantled by teammate Charles Leclerc across both qualifying and the race.
Despite their struggles, Briatore is confident that Ferrari will turn things around under Frederic Vasseur’s leadership.
“I already have my own problems. I’ve only been close to Ferrari in the garage. No one ever asked me to go to Ferrari, but I know that when I was at Benetton, Ferrari had to take 12 or 13 people away from me to win, starting with Michael Schumacher,” Briatore said as quoted by Automoto.it.
“Luca di Montezemolo was and is a great manager with extraordinary leadership, but even he had to wait five years to win; it was never easy. Sooner or later, [Fred Vasseur] will solve the problems.
“He’s a very good person, but F1 is very complicated today, with seven cars within two tenths of a second. This year, the only truly competitive team is McLaren.
“Next year, everything will change, and we’ll be fighting for the podium too. You’ll see, with the new cars, Hamilton will be back in the fight for victory; he’s always great.”
Can Hamilton end F1 podium drought?
Lewis Hamilton’s F1 podium drought stretches back to the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Since then, Hamilton has finished fourth twice.
His best shot at a podium was at the British Grand Prix, in front of his home crowd.
However, Hamilton was unable to reel Nico Hülkenberg in during the closing laps of the race.
Hamilton is now 16 races into his Ferrari career without a top-three finish.
As a result, he’s on course to be the first Ferrari driver since Kimi Raikkonen to go through an entire season without a rostrum appearance.
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