In the opinion of former F1 racer Nick Heidfeld, “you can see the differences” in the Lewis Hamilton of now versus “five or ten years ago”.

And with Hamilton‘s Ferrari career struggling to ignite in the early stages of this partnership, Heidfeld pointed to Hamilton’s age – the Brit having turned 40 ahead of his Ferrari debut – even if Heidfeld acknowledges it as a fact “some people don’t like to hear”.

Lewis Hamilton ‘no longer the youngest’ and ‘differences’ can be seen

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Hamilton’s F1 2025 move to Ferrari from Mercedes was a team switch the seven-time World Champion hoped would revitalise his storied F1 career, but it is proving something of a slow-burner.

While there was the high of taking a first win with Ferrari in the China Sprint, such highlights have been limited, with Hamilton only once finishing a grand prix ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc, while the qualifying stats read 7-1 in Leclerc’s favour also.

It would also appear Hamilton and his new race engineer Riccardo Adami have a few kinks in their team radio communication left to iron out.

And in an F1-Insider interview, Nick Heidfeld – 13 times a visitor to the Formula 1 podium – was asked for his take on the Hamilton and Ferrari situation.

While he declared “I think so” when asked if there is still something more to come from Hamilton at Ferrari, he expanded to highlight Hamilton’s 40 years of age and the “differences” he sees in this version of Hamilton, a truth which to his mind “some people don’t like to hear”.

“If the car suits him, he can still perform at his best. You saw it in China,” said Heidfeld on Hamilton.

“But compared to Leclerc, he’s currently behind – especially in qualifying.

“And of course, even if some people don’t like to hear that now: He’s no longer the youngest. If you compare him with Hamilton five or ten years ago, you can see the differences.”

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

At that point, Heidfeld was asked if any similarities at all can be spotted between Hamilton at Ferrari and Michael Schumacher at Mercedes.

Schumacher retired after the 2006 campaign as a seven-time World Champion and Ferrari/F1 icon, but returned in 2010 with Mercedes – also now in his 40s – for what proved to be an underwhelming three-season stint before his second and final retirement from the sport.

He was replaced at Mercedes by Hamilton, who with the Silver Arrows, won a further six World titles to equal Schumacher’s record, while surpassing the legendary German for most grand prix wins with a current tally of 105.

“Not quite,” Heidfeld replied on the idea of Hamilton’s situation being comparable with Schumacher’s comeback with Mercedes. “Michael was out for several years, whereas Lewis drove through.”

However, be that as it may, Heidfeld adds: “But it shows: After many years in the same environment, changing teams is difficult. Lewis was perfectly integrated at Mercedes – now he has to get used to a new car.

“And the older you get, the harder it is to make a fresh start.”

After a season-best grand prix result of P4 in Imola, Hamilton spoke of progress being made going into the Monaco Grand Prix.

In a fresh update after the race, he suggested said progress has slowed, but was not too disappointed in his one-lap performance.

Leclerc narrowly missed out on pole at his home race to Lando Norris, while Hamilton qualified P4. He would start from seventh due to a grid drop for impeding Max Verstappen, and recovered to P5 at the chequered flag.

“Last week was good, this week’s not been so great, as you can see,” Hamilton told the media, including PlanetF1.com, following the Monaco GP.

“But performance-wise, qualifying fourth was not bad. I’m hoping for a better race weekend next week.”

And that race weekend in question is the Spanish Grand Prix, which carries special intrigue for the fact that a new FIA Technical Directive – which has imposed stricter flexibility tests on the front wings – will come into force for the first time.

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