Lewis Hamilton finished off the podium again with Ferrari at the Canadian Grand Prix. The Brit is still yet to finish in the top three of a Grand Prix for the Maranello outfit.
The 2025 season marks the first time in Hamilton’s career that he has not finished on the podium in the opening 10 races. The seven-time champion is struggling to adapt to life at Ferrari as he finds it difficult to find feeling in the SF-25.
His results have not been awful; in fact, he has been consistently fighting in the top six since his elimination in Q2 at Imola. However, they are certainly far below what many expected of him over the winter, with Ferrari fans demanding the championship from Hamilton.
But his title hopes seem to be over already as he sits 119 points behind Oscar Piastri after finishing P6 at the Canadian Grand Prix. The Brit outqualified teammate Charles Leclerc after his Q3 blunder left him in P8, but he finished behind the Monegasque driver as Ferrari scored 18 points.
| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Oscar Piastri |
198 |
| 2 |
Lando Norris |
176 |
| 3 |
Max Verstappen |
155 |
| 4 |
George Russell |
136 |
| 5 |
Charles Leclerc |
104 |
| 6 |
Lewis Hamilton |
79 |
| 7 |
Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
63 |
| 8 |
Alexander Albon |
42 |
| 9 |
Esteban Ocon |
22 |
| 10 |
Isack Hadjar |
21 |
The Maranello outfit had been second in the constructors’ championship heading into the weekend, but have now fallen behind Mercedes after their double podium. Ferrari have had the fourth-fastest car in 2025, but have been fortunate that Red Bull have only been competitive with one car.
Ferrari are doing a lot ‘in the background’ to fix their problems in 2025. But it is becoming clear that Hamilton is not impressed with the team’s operation.
Lewis Hamilton is unsatisfied by Ferrari’s ‘too narrow’ working methods at the factory
Team principal Fred Vasseur says upgrades are not the ‘main problem’ at Ferrari amid their struggles in 2025. Hamilton disagrees, as he called for updates to come to the car before and after the Canadian GP.
Hamilton is ‘biding his time’ for a suspension upgrade, which could allow him to run the car lower, which he has not been able to do since he was disqualified in Shanghai. The 40-year-old complained that he had no rear end over the radio in Montreal.
Ferrari also have issues internally, with Vasseur facing pressure to keep his job. Hamilton has fully supported the Frenchman – he was a key reason why he moved from Mercedes to Maranello – but he is not particularly happy with what is going on at the factory.
In a report from La Gazzetta dello Sport, Hamilton ‘has not hidden his need to try to adapt to the working method found in Maranello’. The Brit has only worked with British teams and Mercedes-powered cars in F1, those being McLaren and Mercedes.
But the way of working at Ferrari is ‘unique and different’ compared to any other F1 team. Instead of criticising the team’s management, Hamilton finds the working method ‘too narrow for him’.
He admitted in Canada that he is ‘constantly fighting with the engineers’, as they show stubbornness with how they go about working. Hamilton has been calling for different approaches at the factory, which highlights how much work the two parties need to do to get on the same wavelength.
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Has Lewis Hamilton lost the ability to be competitive in F1?
The Brit’s discontent with the 2025 car is understandable. He had high hopes for a successful season, but he has now conceded that his title chances are over.
While the 40-year-old continues to call for upgrades this year, he has also asked for attention to shift to 2026 and the new regulations. Hamilton has thus put Ferrari in an impossible situation; his heart will want to be competitive now, but his head will want to focus on the future.
Throughout 2025, many have also wondered if the seven-time champion no longer has the same ability he once had, with his age being repeatedly mentioned as a factor. Isack Hadjar hinted Hamilton has lost a superpower, claiming that he used to be ‘mighty’ in races.
But others still believe that he has that aggression that earned him seven titles. Nico Rosberg disagrees with Martin Brundle about Hamilton, as he says he still has the ruthlessness that Michael Schumacher and Max Verstappen have displayed in F1.
