Ferrari signed Lewis Hamilton a “few years” too late, with Mattia Binotto saying the driver is at the “end of his career”.

Hamilton joined Ferrari ahead of the F1 2025 championship, the Briton signing a multi-year mega-millions agreement that saw the sport’s most successful driver team up with the oldest surviving and most successful Formula One team.

‘Ferrari took him when he was at the end of his career’

But as hype gave way to reality, Hamilton has struggled to get up to speed with his new team.

Although the Briton has celebrated in the season’s Sprint events, winning in China and on the podium in Miami, he has come up short in the Grands Prix.

Off the pace in qualifying despite holding the record for the most pole positions in Formula 1, Hamilton has only twice outqualified Charles Leclerc, while only once beating his team-mate on a Sunday.

His form has raised questions about whether age has caught up with Hamilton and his pace, the Briton saying in his final season with Mercedes that he is “definitely not fast anymore”. Although he hasn’t gone as far as to repeat that this season, he has uttered the words “I’m slow” several times.

Former Ferrari team boss Binotto, who was in charge of the Italian stable from 2019 to 2022, believes the Scuderia signed 40-year-old Hamilton too late in his career.

“Hamilton is a certain age,” the Italian told automoto.it. “Ferrari took him when he was at the end of his career.

“The ideal would have been to be able to have it a few years earlier.”

Hamilton was linked to Ferrari several times during Binotto’s tenure, with reports that he met with Ferrari bosses in 2019.

Hamilton, however, made the call to remain with Mercedes while Ferrari signed Carlos Sainz as Sebastian Vettel’s replacement.

Analysis: Lewis Hamilton’s mega-millions move to Ferrari

👉 10 biggest sports deals in history: Where does Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari salary rank?

👉 Lewis Hamilton net worth: Where does he rank against football icons Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo?

But while many of the Ferrari headlines have been focused on Hamilton, F1 2025 has not been a great season for the team in its entirety.

Leclerc has also yet to secure a victory and sits P5 in the Drivers’ Championship, one place ahead of Hamilton. Leclerc is 92 points down on championship leader Oscar Piastri.

Ferrari did make position gains at the Spanish Grand Prix where Leclerc’s P3 elevated them from fourth to second in the Constructors’ Championship, but they trail McLaren by almost 200 points.

Binotto backed his former team to bounce back, perhaps even take a Grand Prix before the season is over.

“As an outsider, perhaps we shouldn’t even judge,” said the Audi chief. “It is clear that the performance on the track and the results are not happy at the moment.

“But I know every single member of that team very well and I know that they are good, strong and capable.

“They will be able to improve the car and do well in the future. And I think Ferrari can take some satisfaction for this year.”

Read next: Rosberg tells Leclerc to ‘pounce’ before Lewis Hamilton comes ‘back with a bang’