Ferrari didn’t sign Lewis Hamilton for this.
Half a season in, the most expensive storyline on the grid has gone sour, and the grumbling is getting louder. Juan Pablo Montoya has waded in with a blunt assessment, claiming the Scuderia is “tired” of what it sees as Hamilton’s constant complaints and suggesting Maranello wanted the seven-time champion more for the name than the lap time.
Hamilton’s first year in red has been bruising. No podiums in the opening phase, flashes of pace smothered by inconsistency, and a Hungarian Grand Prix weekend that exposed raw nerves: 12th in qualifying while Charles Leclerc stuck it on pole, followed by Hamilton calling himself “useless,” hinting Ferrari should consider replacing him, and alluding to “a lot going on in the background that’s not great.” He even joked he’d “hopefully” be back after the break for Zandvoort, before insisting the fight isn’t over.
That tone hasn’t sat well internally. Team principal Fred Vasseur, who knows Hamilton as well as anyone in the paddock from their GP2 title-winning year together, told Auto Motor und Sport that his driver sometimes “exaggerates” the car’s issues and that the public intensity makes things “worse.” The message: enough with the doom, let us work.
Montoya sees a disconnect. “Ferrari are not really paying attention to him and they just want him there for his name,” he told a betting platform. “He’s pushing and maybe people are getting annoyed at how hard he’s pushing and tired of what they see as his whining. He is trying to move the world by himself. He needs more people in his corner to get more done.”
There have been flashpoints. After Miami, Hamilton admitted he’d told Vasseur to “calm down” following testy radio exchanges with engineer Riccardo Adami. Yet when Vasseur’s future was questioned around Montreal, Hamilton publicly backed him as “the main reason” he joined — and Vasseur duly signed a multi-year extension on the eve of the Hungaroring weekend. For all the noise, both remain tied to this project, with Hamilton contracted through at least 2026.
The outside shots haven’t helped. Bernie Ecclestone called Hamilton’s response “political” and wondered aloud if swapping Carlos Sainz for a 40-year-old superstar was the right call, before leaving the door open for a late-season resurgence.
What Ferrari needs now is less theatre and more traction. Hamilton says he’s submitted documents outlining changes and refuses to become another champion who didn’t deliver in red. The summer pause offers a breather. But when the visor drops at Zandvoort, words won’t cut it. This has to start looking like a partnership — not a public therapy session.
