Ex-F1 driver blasts ‘spoiled child’ Lewis Hamilton in brutal take

Lewis Hamilton has been branded a “spoiled child” who only wins races when he has the best car by former F1 driver Marc Surer.

Surer, who failed to win in 82 starts from 1979 to 1986, made the stinging claim about seven-time world champion Hamilton to Austrian magazine Vollgas.

Hamilton has endured a hugely challenging debut season with Ferrari and is yet to achieve a podium finish in 17 grands prix.

The 40-year-old Briton has also been comprehensively outperformed by Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.

It has been a difficult few years for Hamilton, who has only racked up two victories since missing out on the 2021 F1 world championship to Max Verstappen in the controversial Abu Dhabi showdown.

“Lewis Hamilton is simply a spoiled child who has always driven the best cars. If the car suits him, he wins hands down,” Surer said.

“But as soon as he doesn’t have the fastest car, he runs into problems.”

Fernando Alonso comparison drawn

Surer cited Fernando Alonso as an example of a driver who maximises his machinery even when it is not competitive, something Surer feels Hamilton does not do.

“He [Hamilton] is not like Alonso, who can live with compromises and gets the most out of every car,” the Swiss continued.

“I did not expect that. I thought he would still shine in the races thanks to his experience. But that is not happening.”

Surer also pointed out how Hamilton struggled against former teammate George Russell in his final two campaigns at Mercedes, and is now being beaten by Leclerc.

“On the other hand, he already struggled over the past two years alongside George Russell. At Ferrari, he now has an extremely fast team-mate in Charles Leclerc,” he concluded.

Hamilton appears to have made a breakthrough with Ferrari’s 2025 car since the summer break, though his results have not matched this.

Having crashed out of the Dutch Grand Prix, Hamilton recovered from a five-place penalty to take sixth at his first Italian Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver.

Hamilton then finished eighth ahead of Leclerc at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Ferrari endured another underwhelming weekend.

Hamilton sits sixth in the world championship, one place and 44 points behind Leclerc.

Ferrari, meanwhile, have been overtaken by Mercedes and fallen to third in the constructors’ championship with seven rounds to go.