Johnny Herbert is questioning whether the “raw pace” is still there in Lewis Hamilton, and while it may be “horrible” to say, he argues the “truth” is Ferrari can no longer rely on the seven-time World Champion.

Comparing Hamilton’s situation to how he observed Nigel Mansell and Michael Schumacher fall from the peak of their powers, Herbert believes that if Hamilton were still at his “peak”, then he would be doing what “Max Verstappen is doing right now” in extracting “the best” out of his car.

Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1: Peak been and gone?

Moving from Mercedes to Ferrari was supposed to reinvigorate Hamilton, but so far, it has been a challenging experience, with a China Sprint pole and victory the only highlight.

The Spanish Grand Prix was a further blow for Hamilton who was asked to move aside for team-mate Charles Leclerc in the opening stint, Leclerc racing on to a podium finish, while Hamilton was P6 after being overtaken by Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg late in the race.

With nine rounds gone in F1 2025, Hamilton is 23 points behind Leclerc in the standings, and former F1 driver and steward Johnny Herbert is seriously questioning the ability of Hamilton at this stage.

Hamilton joined Ferrari as Formula 1’s most successful driver with most wins, poles and podiums among the achievements on his CV, plus a record-equalling seven World Championships, though he linked-up with Ferrari upon turning 40.

“It just looks like Lewis Hamilton is lost, really lost,” Herbert told InstantWithdrawalBettingSites. “I don’t know if the raw pace that he’s always had throughout his career is there anymore.

“I thought, with the pure racing skill Hamilton had, he’d be able to drive around any problems with the car but he seems stuck in a hole. It’s not nice to see.

“It’s not the first time we’ve seen it in the sport, though. Nigel Mansell won his championship in 1992, went to America in 1993, came back in 1994 and it didn’t work anymore for him. It happened with Michael Schumacher too, when he had his break and came back, then he wasn’t the same Schumacher as before.

“You’re always going to have your peak and an end of your peak. It’s not nice to see.

“I know Charles Leclerc is not happy with the car either, but at least he’s getting podium finishes consistently.”

A key subplot of Hamilton’s difficulties with Ferrari so far has been an apparent struggle to gel with race engineer Riccardo Adami.

“There have been a couple of poor decisions in Ferrari’s strategy and poor communication over the radio, Hamilton doesn’t have the synergy with his engineer that he needs,” Herbert noted.

“He hasn’t found his comfort zone since the sprint win in China.”

F1 2025 head-to-head standings

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Regardless, Herbert believes that the Hamilton of old would still get the best out of this Ferrari, likening it to how former title rival Max Verstappen remains in the hunt for a fifth straight World Championship crown at the wheel of the Red Bull RB21, despite McLaren having emerged as the new leading force.

“Sometimes you don’t realise when it’s not as easy as it was before, but when you look across the garage and your teammate is outperforming you, then it may click,” Herbert continued.

“The greats of the sport, at their peak, get the best out of their car. Max Verstappen is doing it right now. Hamilton just can’t seem to get the extra he needs anymore. He won’t understand why he can’t, because he’ll feel like he should be able to. But, Leclerc is outperforming you in the same car.”

And so, Leclerc is the driver for Ferrari to get behind in their quest to end a title drought ongoing since 2008, not Hamilton, Herbert argues.

“Leclerc is only going to grow and is in control of Ferrari’s future,” he said. “He’s the guy they can rely on, Ferrari can’t rely on Lewis Hamilton at this point.

“It’s horrible to say, but it’s the truth.”

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