Former Ferrari chief suggests Hamilton signing came too late

Former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto has delivered his thoughts on Lewis Hamilton’s difficult start to the 2025 Formula 1 season.

After moving from Mercedes to the Scuderia for this year, the seven-time world champion has struggled to adapt to his Italian machinery. The now-Sauber CTO has highlighted his age as a contributing factor.

Leading Ferrari from 2019 to 2022, the Swiss-Italian evaluated his former team’s performance as they currently sit second in the constructors’ standings. Despite only McLaren being ahead of the team, things don’t look so positive on-track.

“It’s clear that the performance on the track and the results are not good at the moment,” Binotto told Automoto.it. “However, 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 believe that Ferrari can get some satisfaction this year.”

There’s a sense of disappointment around Ferrari, especially from Hamilton who is currently sixth in the drivers’ standings and seemingly finding the SF25 a difficult car to adapt to.

While he secured a win at the Chinese sprint race, he’s yet to see a similar level of success. Leclerc sits fifth in the standings, 23 points ahead of his team-mate, but has still faced similar challenges despite consistently outperforming the Briton, especially in qualifying pace.

“Hamilton is of a certain age,” Binotto said on the subject. “Ferrari took him when he was already at the end of his career. The ideal would have been to have him a few years earlier.”

Following the Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton was frustrated with his performance.

“It was not a great day. The strategy was good, the team did a great job. That’s it,” he said following the race. “I just had a really bad day and have nothing to say. It was a difficult day, there’s nothing else to add to it, it was terrible.”

He later apologised to Sky Sports F1 reporter Rachel Brookes for being “so down,” according to her colleague and commentator David Croft.