Max Verstappen dissects Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari struggles: “You can’t be yourself”

Max Verstappen has explained why he thinks Lewis Hamilton has struggled during his first year at Ferrari.

Hamilton’s 2025 season with the Scuderia hasn’t lived up to expectations.

The seven-time world champion has yet to finish on the podium since joining the Maranello-based team. 

While Hamilton has shown flashes of pace, such as his win in the China sprint, he’s struggled to settle at Ferrari.

His working relationship with race engineer Riccardo Adami remains patchy, with poor communication a recurring theme.

Hamilton’s outspoken nature, particularly in post-race interviews, even prompted an unusual intervention from chairman John Elkann, who urged his drivers to “talk less” and focus on driving.

Hamilton remains unconcerned about his results relative to Charles Leclerc, though. 

Leclerc has scored all seven of the team’s podiums this year and continues to wait for his first true shot at a world title.

2026 will be a big year — and a major test — for Hamilton and Ferrari. Hamilton is banking on the new regulations suiting his driving style, while Ferrari will need to give him the tools to contend for wins again.

Verstappen’s view on Hamilton

Verstappen famously went head-to-head with Hamilton for the 2021 F1 title — a rivalry widely regarded as one of the fiercest in the sport’s history. 

Verstappen came out on top, benefitting from a poor call by then-race director Michael Masi.

Since then, their careers have gone in very different directions. 

Verstappen has added three more titles to his CV, while Hamilton has added only two wins.

In an interview with PA, Verstappen empathised with Hamilton’s struggles at Ferrari. He referenced Hamilton leaving his “second family” at Mercedes and the fact that his teammate, Leclerc, is still improving as a driver.

“If you don’t feel secure or comfortable within the team dynamic you cannot be yourself and that has an impact,” Verstappen said.

“You leave a team that has been your second family in Mercedes and you have built up such a career with them. Everyone benefitted off that, Mercedes and Lewis and then going in a completely different route is not easy, plus you are going up against a guy that has been there for a while. It is very tough.

“And age is not on your side. You are not going to become faster at that age, not necessarily slower, but definitely not faster, whereas Charles is still getting better so that is also not helping him.”