Lewis Hamilton attacked for ‘not putting effort in’ as Ferrari sent alarming warning

Lewis Hamilton will be a Ferrari driver when the 2025 season gets underway, ending a 12-year partnership with Mercedes.

Flavio Briatore has questioned Lewis Hamilton’s commitment to F1 ‘when the car isn’t good’ ahead of his move to Ferrari in 2025. The legendary Brit is statistically the most decorated F1 driver in history but has been left frustrated by a string of three uncompetitive cars since losing out on the 2021 World Championship.

Hamilton kept faith in his Mercedes crew throughout this ordeal and often made trips to the factory to lend his support to the team at Brackley. However, after recording P7 and P9 finishes to kickstart the 2024 campaign, the 39-year-old made his frustrations known in Saudi Arabia.

It’s frustrating for sure to be three years in a row in almost the same position,” he said. “Or it’s definitely tough, but we’ll get our heads down and we’ll keep working away, and I know everyone back at the factory is pushing as hard as they can, but we’ve definitely got to make some big changes.”

Now Briatore – who is currently Fernando Alonso’s manager – is debating whether or not Hamilton can be the figure to lift Ferrari out of their World Championship slump and restore them to the forefront of the F1 grid.

The car needs to be better,” Briatore informed Italian broadcaster Rai 1. “With such large gaps, no driver can truly stand out.
If Hamilton were driving for Ferrari now, he would be achieving similar results as Leclerc, who is a speedy driver despite being underrated frequently.”

At the conclusion, he could find it challenging to maintain a lead over Charles as he is known for not putting in much effort when the car is not performing well. Briatore is not the sole influential figure in Formula 1 to question the determination of the seven-time world champion.

David Coulthard, a former Red Bull driver, implied that Hamilton had mentally disengaged from Mercedes after finishing in ninth place in Saudi Arabia.

“He mentioned to Channel 4 that he is not comfortable with this car. You can observe that George is focusing on improving his lap time while it seems like Lewis is lagging behind.”

“We do have knowledge that if he is able to find the right opportunity to perform, he will surely succeed.

However, at the current moment, it seems like he is mentally prepared to make the move to Ferrari.”