Lewis Hamilton is racing in front of Ferrari’s home fans – known as the Tifosi – for the first time at Imola this weekend. It’s one of the most important stops on the calendar for Fred Vasseur’s team.
A good result here could energise Ferrari’s season. But a poor showing, like the one they produced in Miami, will ratchet the pressure up further.
The Scuderia enter the weekend fourth in the constructors’ championship, 93 points worse off than they were at the same stage in 2024. Charles Leclerc is responsible for their one and only podium finish.
Lewis Hamilton’s arrival over the winter generated a level of hype rarely, if ever, seen in Formula 1. But aside from a Sprint victory in China and a podium in the same event last time out, he’s struggled.
Leclerc has been comfortably quicker than Hamilton in qualifying, and he’s also beaten him in every single race so far. The seven-time world champion only has one top-six finish to his name.
Some Ferrari fans think Lewis Hamilton is ‘not delivering’ this year
Speaking on F1TV’s Weekend Warm-Up show on Thursday, Davide Valsecchi explained the feeling among the Tifosi prior to Imola. The Italian racing driver won the GP2 title in 2012 and has also been part of F1 test teams.
Valsecchi says the Ferrari fanbase are currently divided, with some calling for Hamilton to be shown more ‘respect’ as the most successful F1 driver ever. They may feel that the Scuderia need to improve the car to get the best out of their new signing.
Others, however, think that Hamilton simply isn’t ‘delivering’ this year, with Leclerc’s advantage backing up that theory. The best way for Ferrari to quiet these arguments is to start winning, but that looks like a distant objective right now.
Ted Kravitz doubts Ferrari can score a podium this weekend, which means the legions of spectators wearing scarlet red are likely to go home disappointed.
- READ MORE: Ted Kravitz applauds embattled Ferrari star Lewis Hamilton for ‘one of the lines of the day’ in Imola interview
“To be honest, the Tifosi cannot wait to see Ferrari fighting for victory,” Valsecchi said. “At the moment, they keep arguing with each other.
“‘Come on, there’s no respect for Lewis Hamilton’ or, ‘come on, Lewis Hamilton is not delivering, he’s not strong enough at the moment’. Everyone keeps arguing.
“For sure, Miami was not a great race. The race for them, strategy-wise, was not perfect. The arguing between the two drivers and the team principal was not fantastic.
“We left Miami not in a great mood, and we’ll try to have a fantastic result this weekend, but believe me, the rivals are so strong.”
Lewis Hamilton is hopeful ahead of the Imola weekend – Ferrari staff are not
Ferrari aren’t willing to give up on their 2025 car yet. The major rule changes for 2026 mean a reallocation of sources could be particularly advantageous.
But Vasseur is adamant Ferrari’s car still has ‘potential’. And he intends to wait until the Belgian GP in July to see if they can unlock it.
Hamilton is trying to lift Ferrari’s spirits, adopting a markedly different tone after his glum answers earlier in the year. But he’s finding it hard to do so despite his unique status in the sport.
A report on Friday claims morale is still low at Ferrari. Winning in their colours may be the greatest privilege, but failing is the greatest burden.
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