Bernie Collins has spotted a change in Lewis Hamilton as the Briton continues to want answers to his lack of form since joining Ferrari from Mercedes in the 2025 F1 season.
The 40-year-old made the seismic shift from the Silver Arrows to the Scuderia this term after an 11-month wait following the confirmation of Hamilton leaving Mercedes for Ferrari. Yet a dream move has not led to a dream year so far, with P5 in Bahrain his best Grand Prix result.
Hamilton enjoyed a flash of success in Shanghai when the seven-time F1 champion won the Sprint from pole position. But Ferrari registered their first-ever double disqualification in the Chinese Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc and Hamilton denied their P5 and P6 respectively.
Bernie Collins feels Lewis Hamilton needs to rediscover the ‘magic’ of his arrival at Ferrari
Leclerc has finished ahead of Hamilton in each Grand Prix that they have so far contested as teammates at Ferrari. The Monegasque even out-qualified him by 0.597 seconds for P3 and P9 at last week’s Bahrain Grand Prix, which saw Hamilton admit he’s ‘just not doing the job’.
Hamilton was at a loss to explain his pace deficit to Leclerc after Ferrari’s upgraded floor and rear wing worked in Bahrain. He was more competitive during the Grand Prix and climbed to P5 yet was 8.314 seconds behind Leclerc, who fought for a podium result until the final laps.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family
Leclerc also led Ferrari’s quest during practice at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Friday with P3 in FP1 just 0.070s off first place and P4 in FP2 by 0.482s. Hamilton was just P8 in FP1 and P13 in FP2, with Collins feeling she has seen a change in his demeanour since joining Ferrari.
So, the former Aston Martin strategist thinks Hamilton now has to recapture the ‘magic’ that met his arrival in Maranello. More than 5,000 fans visited Fiorano for Hamilton’s first time in Ferrari’s 2025 car, following on from over a thousand fans also attending his first time in red.
Collins told Sky Sports’ The F1 Show: “Obviously, the pace is there in the car somewhere. It’s not like Lewis, it’s not the Lewis that we’ve seen so far this year at Ferrari.
“He started the year with such an upbeat [and] such a positive story. So, he just needs to get that back, a little bit of that magic.”
Lewis Hamilton was 0.622 seconds slower than Charles Leclerc in FP2 at the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP
Hamilton finishing FP2 at the Saudi Arabian GP not just 1.104s shy of the leading pace set by McLaren’s Lando Norris but 0.622s off Leclerc’s will have frustrated the Briton, especially as Ferrari expected a 30% performance increase in Saudi Arabia over their speed from Bahrain.
Part of the problem in qualifying last week was also that Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur feels Hamilton paid the price for a ‘messy’ Q3 in Bahrain. He struggled to put a lap together in Sakhir and even stated ‘I’m sorry’ over the Scuderia’s radio following the top-10 shootout.
So, the Stevenage-born star will now be desperate to improve his speed over a single lap for qualifying on Saturday in Jeddah. Hamilton will likely also be looking forward to a one-week break between the Saudi Arabian GP and the Miami Grand Prix on May 2-4 to try and reset.
Leave feedback about this