At Ferrari, even the vice-chairman admits the modern Formula 1 puzzle can’t be solved with a bigger chequebook. Piero Ferrari, speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, laid it out plainly: in the budget‑cap era, you can’t spend your way out of a negative cycle. You have to build your way out.
“It’s a matter of cycles,” he said. “When you start a negative cycle, you don’t know when you’ll hit rock bottom. Today it’s very complicated because you can’t spend more money to bridge the gaps… You need to put together a series of winning factors to change course.”
That’s the job Lewis Hamilton has taken on since landing in Maranello. The seven-time World Champion didn’t arrive merely to drive; he arrived to agitate, to raise standards, to pull the place into line. And he hasn’t been shy about where he thinks Ferrari’s fallen short.
“I see a huge amount of potential,” Hamilton said. “But it’s a huge organisation, and there are a lot of moving parts. Not all of them are firing on all cylinders. That’s ultimately why the team has not had the success it deserves. I feel it’s my job to challenge absolutely every area… particularly the guys at the top who are making the decisions.”
It’s a familiar story in red: the weight of history, the churn of “almost there,” and a drought that stretches back to Kimi Räikkönen’s 2007 drivers’ title and the 2008 constructors’ crown. In between came Mercedes’ machine, two Red Bull eras, and now McLaren setting the standard.
Ferrari are second in the 2025 standings but a hefty 299 points behind McLaren, who’ve turned Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri into their own internal title fight. Hamilton sits sixth in the Drivers’ Championship, 42 points behind Charles Leclerc. He isn’t polishing the trophy cabinet yet; he’s ripping up the to-do list.
“If you take the same path all the time, you get the same results,” Hamilton added. “I’m just challenging certain things. They’ve been incredibly responsive. We’ve been improving in so many areas… There’s still a lot of improvements to be made, but they’ve been very responsive.”
There’s an edge to his urgency. “I’m here to win. I don’t have as much time as this one here,” he joked, gesturing to Kimi Antonelli. “It’s crunch time.”
That’s the delicate balance Ferrari must strike. The budget cap, introduced in 2021, has locked out the old Ferrari fix. Success now is compounding gains, welding culture to process, and hitting regulation changes at full stride. On that last point, 2026 looms large: new chassis and power unit rules reset the board and offer Ferrari—and everyone else—a chance to redraw the pecking order.
Hamilton believes that window can be theirs. “I truly believe in the potential of this team… they can win multiple World Championships moving forward. During my time, that’s my sole goal.”
Ferrari don’t need a miracle. They need what Piero Ferrari called “a series of winning factors.” In 2025, with McLaren out of reach, assembling them is the only game in town.
