"He has to accept the fact he is finished": Fans react to Jenson Button claiming losing to Charles Leclerc is hurting Lewis Hamilton

Fans reacted as former F1 driver Jenson Button commented that Lewis Hamilton was "hurt" losing out to his teammate Charles Leclerc at Ferrari. The Briton moved to the team this season and has been facing issues adapting to the car.

For most of his Formula 1 career, Hamilton has been the faster driver in the team, be it McLaren or Mercedes. However, that hasn't been the case ever since his move to the Italian outfit. Apart from his victory in the Sprint in China, Charles Leclerc has outperformed him in most races. Moreover, Hamilton has also been facing major issues in finding pace in the SF-25.

Commenting on his situation, Hamilton's former teammate Jenson Button mentioned that the Briton's personality has changed quite a bit recently.

"Lewis is a different character now than he was when we were teammates,” Button said (via PlanetF1). If he was deflated, the next day he was out and on it and super fast. Now, he’s much more of a calm personality, he’s much more of a rounded character."

He further mentioned that Lewis Hamilton might be "hurt" losing out to his teammate at Ferrari.

"I think it is starting to hurt him a little bit, constantly being slower than his teammate," he added. "That’s not how Lewis Hamilton is built. He’s a winner."

Fans, however, did not quite agree with this. Some comments mentioned that Hamilton was "finished" and he would have to accept the fact.

"But he has to accept the fact he is finished and he can't always get the same treatment as what he got during his Mercedes glory days"

"Looks like it's not a winner," a fan wrote.

"He’s been slower than @JensonButton as well. Nothing we didn’t know already," a comment read.

At the same time, some fans also supported Hamilton, with some drawing a comparison to Carlos Sainz, who Alex Albon is outperforming at Williams Racing.

"No mention Carlos is doing worse against Elbon?" Read another comment.

"Don't shift your gears into apology mode, Lewis Hamilton You're a racing icon, and icons don't apologize for being fierce competitors," another fan mentioned.

"he just needs some time to adapt to the car.. even Leclerc isn't performing amazingly well. ferrari need to work on the car quite a bit this season," a fan wrote.

---

Can Lewis Hamilton improve his performance this season?

It was understood that Hamilton wouldn't have been the fastest driver on the grid the moment he shifted to the Scuderia. He has driven Mercedes-powered cars throughout his F1 career, and this was the first time he was behind the wheel of a Ferrari engine in the sport. Moreover, the car wasn't made around his preferences, and the team didn't have ample time during the pre-season testing, either.

Lewis Hamilton can regularly be seen struggling with the car's balance and traction on the track as he makes multiple corrections while going through a single corner. Although future upgrades can help him adapt to the car, it is currently tough to say if his performance will improve.

Moreover, the seven-time F1 World Champion had also earlier admitted that it would be a tough season in 2025.

"At the moment there's no fix. So, this is how it's going to be for the rest of the year. It's going to be painful," he said (via Sky Sports).

Although the team is set to bring more upgrade packages throughout the year, his performance is unlikely to improve by a wide margin. Although a few better races can be expected, winning this year seems out of reach for him.