Lewis Hamilton was the “oops of the weekend” at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in the opinion of Sky F1 pundit and analyst Karun Chandhok.

And the former Hispania and Lotus F1 driver said that comment did not go down well at all with the Lewis Hamilton fanbase, which he has been made aware of.

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What started out as the realisation of a childhood dream for Hamilton when he left Mercedes to join Ferrari is at risk of turning into a nightmare, following a challenging start to the F1 2025 campaign.

Hamilton did take his first victory with Ferrari in the China Sprint, but is yet to finish a grand prix ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc, while large deficits over one lap of six tenths and north of half a second in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia respectively, triggered a series of alarming Hamilton statements.

Suggesting there is “no fix” and a “painful” season is ahead, to quipping that he needs a “brain transplant” to gel with the Ferrari and hinting that patience from the bosses is wearing thin, the Hamilton and Ferrari partnership has some serious early teething problems to overcome.

And after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which Hamilton finished half a minute behind Leclerc, Sky F1’s Karun Chandhok cast a blunt verdict.

“Oops of the weekend? I’m going to have to say Lewis Hamilton,” Chandhok stated.

“He looked a long way off Charles Leclerc all weekend long, six-tenths in qualifying, 31 seconds in a 50-lap race, so again about six-tenths a lap – a big margin for Lewis to be behind Charles this weekend. He’s going to have to dig deep to improve.”

And in a subsequent appearance on Sky F1’s ‘The F1 Show’ podcast, Chandhok said Hamilton’s supporters had made their displeasure known over his verdict.

“They’re all very upset with me this week because I said he was the ‘oops’ of the weekend on our Sky social media channels,” said Chandhok. “I’m getting a lot of upset Team LH people.”

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It is nonetheless a troubling time for Hamilton at Ferrari, and his downbeat comments are making for uneasy viewing for Chandhok’s Sky F1 colleague Martin Bundle.

“Hamilton would finish half a minute behind his team-mate Leclerc in seventh, albeit showing strong pace from time to time,” Brundle wrote in his post-Saudi Arabian GP Sky Sports column.

“The pace is in there somewhere but it’s a very hard watch when Lewis is doing post-race interviews at the moment.

“He’s not happy with his performances and is clearly more than a little perplexed and disappointed.”

Hamilton sits P7 in the Drivers’ Championship standings, 16 points and two positions behind Leclerc.

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