As Ferrari vie for a first World title since 2007, team chief Frits Van Amersfoort admits they could struggle as Lewis Hamilton is “past his peak” and Charles Leclerc is “not there yet”.

Ferrari have a new driver pairing for the F1 2025 championship as Hamilton has replaced Carlos Sainz as Leclerc’s new team-mate.

Can Ferrari dethrone Max Verstappen in F1 2025?

As of Monday, the seven-time World Champion is officially a Ferrari driver, swapping silver for red after 12 years with Mercedes. Hamilton’s results with the Silver Arrows included six World titles and 84 Grand Prix wins, bringing his tally to seven and 105 respectively.

But can he add to his World title tally with Ferrari?

That’s one of the big questions ahead of the new season with pundits divided as to whether Hamilton still has the speed to win, or if Leclerc will trounce him.

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But if you ask Van Amersfoort, he thinks neither Ferrari driver is in a position to dethrone Max Verstappen.

“I cannot imagine that Lewis’ arrival will be at the expense of Charles,” he said to Motorsport.com. “Carlos Sainz was of course not a slow guy either.

“And now I have to be careful not to make enemies, but I believe Lewis is past his peak. And Charles is not there yet in my opinion. Although I have to admit that Charles feels closer to me than Lewis.

“Lewis is certainly not old compared to me, but I just believe in young talent. So if I had been Ferrari and Carlos had had to leave for whatever reason, I personally would have gone for another young talent.”

He does, however, believe that the Hamilton/Ferrari combination will gel and perhaps better than the Briton’s partnership with his now-former Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.

“Lewis will be in a warmer and more emotional bath at Ferrari,” he said. “And since Lewis is a man who has to rely on emotion, which his extravagant way of dressing also shows, he and Ferrari might be a very good match.

“I don’t know exactly what the relationship between Fred and Lewis is, but it might turn out to be very important. After all, motorsport remains human work.

“I’m speculating a bit, but it’s possible that this plays a huge role mentally for Lewis.

“At Mercedes, it’s a bit like Toto’s. And although Wolff is not German, he does show some German traits. I know Fred a bit better. He’s a bit more relaxed and that might suit Lewis well.”

Hamilton has arrived at Ferrari chasing his elusive eighth World Championship as the Briton looks to cement his place as Formula 1’s most successful driver ever.

But to do so he’ll have to do what Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc could not – finish P1 in the Drivers’ Championship.

Van Amersfoort reckons Ferrari’s team first mantra hasn’t helped its drivers.

Whereas Red Bull acknowledge that the team is all about Verstappen, at Ferrari, it’s all about the team.

“Ferrari is a political swamp,” he said. “If you look at Red Bull; Max and the entire Verstappen clan have completely wrapped that team around them. That is simply not possible at Ferrari.

“I think this has also put a spanner in the works for Charles at times. Because I believe that Max and Charles are just as fast. Only Charles is at Ferrari. And Ferrari is Ferrari.

“There, the team is always more important than the driver. And that is a bit of a shame for Charles. But hey, you still drive for the most famous brand in the world.”

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