Rob Smedley has pinpointed why ‘unhappy’ Lewis Hamilton is struggling more than Charles Leclerc with Ferrari’s 2025 F1 car

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will be hoping that the work done behind the scenes at Ferrari since the Miami Grand Prix will help them take a much-needed step forward.

Ferrari currently sit fourth in the constructors’ championship after six race weekends, with only a single Grand Prix podium to show for their efforts.

That came courtesy of Charles Leclerc at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, although it shouldn’t take away from Lewis Hamilton’s Sprint Race win in China and third-place finish in the equivalent event in Miami.

The difference between Leclerc’s and Hamilton’s cornering speed in Jeddah was clear for everyone to see.

However, instead of that race being an important step forward for team principal Fred Vasseur’s outfit, it proved to be a false dawn after a disappointing Miami Grand Prix.

Hamilton and Leclerc got their wires crossed on the team radio, but Ferrari’s much bigger concern will be the fact neither driver could catch Alex Albon’s Williams.

The Monegasque has a 12-point lead over his new teammate in the drivers’ championship, but the gulf between the two drivers, particularly in qualifying, has been much greater than that at times this year.

Former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley believes he knows why the seven-time world champion might be struggling more than his younger teammate.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Rob Smedley identifies why Lewis Hamilton is struggling at Ferrari this season

Smedley was asked on the F1 Nation Podcast why he thinks Ferrari are struggling for performance this year and said, “The car is not that easy to drive. It certainly doesn’t suit I think Lewis’ driving style.

“I think Charles can get a bit more on top of it over a single timed lap. When you’re really putting the car on the edge and you need a really solid, high-speed rear, so when you affect the high-speed turn in in medium, high-speed corners, you need a really good rear end.

“And we’ve seen in the past that if Lewis doesn’t have that to lean on if the car is a little bit tail-happy, he’s unhappy and he can’t get the best out of it, that’s just his driving style.

“So, I do think that there’s just a general lack of performance. It will be tiny, tiny margins.

“There’s not going to be one thing that they can do with that car, which suddenly becomes the silver bullet.

“There will be just a series of things that they’ve got to do. This is now when you see the true metal within, can they work their way out of it? Can they find more performance?

“If they can find more general performance, both [in] qualifying and the race, you’re talking about two, three-tenths, it will put them in a significantly stronger position.”

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family

Lewis Hamilton following Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari set-up choices

Hamilton was up against it this season, despite his world-class talent for several reasons.

Vasseur admitted that ‘99%’ of Ferrari’s car would change from last season, which in hindsight appears to be a mistake, but also meant that while he was learning how to drive the SF-25, his team were also getting to grips with the optimum set-up.

Leclerc’s set-up instructions are being taken on board by Ferrari and after going in his own direction earlier in the season, Hamilton is now following suit.

Among these decisions, Hamilton is one of three drivers among the top four teams learning to drive a new car this season.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli had thousands of kilometres of testing at Mercedes under his belt before his debut, while Yuki Tsunoda has been part of the Red Bull family for years.

Next year’s regulation changes should help level the playing field, but whether Hamilton has the same level of faith in Ferrari to develop a race-winning car as he did six months ago is yet to be seen.