Ask around Maranello and you’ll hear a dozen theories about Lewis Hamilton’s bruising first season in red. Francesco Cigarini has a blunt suggestion: pick up the phone to Sebastian Vettel.
The former Ferrari mechanic, speaking to Sky Italia, reckons Hamilton is being made to “look like a novice” by Charles Leclerc — just as Vettel was across 2019–20. Cigarini’s read is simple: Leclerc thrives on a sharply balanced car with a loose rear, a setup that demands feel and commitment. When Vettel tried to mimic it, he says, the four-time champion floundered. “I think that’s exactly what’s happening with Hamilton now,” Cigarini added, even floating the idea that Lewis might call Vettel “to try to wriggle out of this.”
Hamilton’s start needs no gloss. The seven-time champion hasn’t reached the podium in his first 14 outings for Ferrari and left Budapest sounding hollowed out, qualifying only 12th on a day Leclerc stuck Ferrari’s first pole of 2025. He labeled himself “useless” and hinted at friction inside the operation: “There’s a lot going on in the background that’s not great.”
Not everyone agrees he’s chasing Leclerc’s blueprint, though. La Gazzetta dello Sport reported Hamilton has veered far from his teammate on setup, cycling through bars, dampers and wing levels that haven’t suited the SF-25, while Leclerc has kept things more conventional — and quicker. The spread, per the report, surprised Ferrari given how similar the pair’s driving styles were expected to be.
Vettel’s name keeps circling this storyline for a reason. Hamilton sought his perspective even before the move, with Vettel a useful reference point on life at Ferrari and on race engineer Riccardo Adami, who worked with Seb from 2015–20 and now oversees Hamilton’s side of the garage after Carlos Sainz. Hamilton’s been spotted with the kind of handwritten notes Vettel swore by, and after his Fiorano debut in January, word was he’d rung the German more than once for advice.
The Briton insists he’s not sitting still. In Belgium, he revealed he’s sent “documents” to Ferrari pushing organizational and car improvements, saying he’s determined not to share the fate of Vettel and Fernando Alonso — champions who left without a title in red. “It’s my job to challenge absolutely every area,” Hamilton said. “I refuse for that to be the case with me, so I’m going the extra mile.”
Whether the answer is edging toward Leclerc’s window, abandoning experimental setups, or heeding a few hard truths from Vettel, the task is clear. Ferrari hired Hamilton for his relentlessness as much as his résumé. If there’s a way out of this hole, he’ll try every door — and, if Cigarini’s right, every number in his phone.
