Former Red Bull driver perplexed by Ferrari’s inconsistencies despite having global superstars Hamilton and Leclerc

David Coulthard has voiced his concerns over Scuderia Ferrari’s underwhelming form throughout the 2025 F1 season so far. The 54-year-old former driver expressed his surprise at the inconsistencies the Italian outfit has shown despite the caliber of drivers they boast.

The Maranello outfit were the second-best constructors in the 2024 campaign, pushing the McLaren team to the final race — the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — in their title fight. However, the team has endured a significant dip in form through the first nine races of 2025 and finds 197 points adrift of the top spots.

Reflecting on the performances of the Italian team, Coulthard didn’t hold back his disappointment.

“You look at McLaren — for all those years, they were nowhere. Ferrari, the biggest name in Formula One, has kind of not been nailing it. How the hell can Ferrari not win consistently? When you've got all of that global support and all of that potential,” he told GP blog.

The former Red Bull driver also questioned how Aston Martin were able to beat them to the signing of legendary designer Adrian Newey.

“Why did Aston Martin manage to persuade Adrian Newey, but Ferrari couldn’t?” he added.

Despite being historically F1’s most successful team, Ferrari have found success and consistency few and far between in recent years. The Prancing Horse team, for all of its history, last tasted a constructors’ title triumph in the 2008 season and a driver’s championship in 2007 with Kimi Raikkonen.

The 2025 campaign has so far not panned out as the team would have hoped. Despite the addition of Lewis Hamilton, they have only managed three podium finishes in nine races, all courtesy of Charles Leclerc.

Former McLaren driver wants Ferrari to build around Hamilton

Juan Pablo Montoya has urged the Ferrari team to build its car around Lewis Hamilton rather than Charles Leclerc. The former McLaren driver stressed this could be key to restoring the team to its former glory days.

The 49-year-old Colombian, who recently aired his thoughts on his Montoya AS podcast for W Radio, stressed that tailoring the car for Leclerc would only guarantee them a few race victories, whereas focusing development around Hamilton could offer them a championship opportunity.

"In my opinion, if they want to be competitive next year, the base of the car has to be more based on Lewis than on Charles. Because the cars that have been based on Charles are cars that can win one or two races a year, but no [titles]. And look, under Lewis' leadership, when they go fast, they find everything very quickly, and he always gives very good direction to what the car needs."

Montoya also highlighted that Hamilton’s vast experience and leadership will prove beneficial overall to the Maranello-based outfit.

It is worth noting that this wouldn’t be the first time the British driver has led a team to success. Hamilton joined the then-emerging Mercedes team in 2013 at the start of the turbo-hybrid era and played a pivotal role in guiding the German outfit to seven Constructors’ Championships between 2014 and 2021.