"Lewis Hamilton has never been the same": Mercedes development driver gets blunt about "major concern" for Ferrari

Mercedes development driver Anthony Davidson has given an honest mid-season assessment of Lewis Hamilton's time with Ferrari in 2025. The seven-time F1 champion has had an underwhelming first half of the season.

He entered the summer break on a mental low after getting knocked out in Q2 in qualifying and recording a season-worst non-points finish at the Hungarian GP. Hamilton called himself "useless" in the media pen and suggested that Ferrari needs to replace him.

Anthony Davidson made a comprehensive assessment of Lewis Hamilton's disappointing start with Ferrari in a column on Formule1.nl. He wrote:

"It pains me to have to mention the name of Lewis Hamilton here. Unbelievable, actually, that I would ever have to say this in an analysis. But we heard in Budapest what he said about himself. It's sad when you hear a sportsman with such an enormous track record doubt himself like that. This is also a major concern for the team."

Davidson compared Hamilton's Ferrari switch to Valentino Rossi's failed switch to Ducati, highlighting how the Briton has performed like a shadow of his championship-winning self in the ground-effect era, which began in 2022.

"What is happening now is what many people thought was going to happen. You can perhaps compare it a bit with Valentino Rossi's switch to Ducati (turned out to be a flop in 2011, ed.). But you can learn an important lesson from it: nothing can be taken for granted. No one is a superman, everyone is vulnerable and fragile.

Nothing lasts forever. It may be that it is so difficult for a driver to adapt to a new car. For me, Lewis has never been the same since the new regulations introduced in 2022, although I sometimes see the old Lewis back in the races. He never had that natural feeling, total control in the car again."

The Mercedes simulator driver ended his assessment of Lewis Hamilton by writing that he hopes for a performance revival with Ferrari after the 2026 regulations reset in F1.

Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur gets honest about Lewis Hamilton's "extreme" self-criticism in the media

Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur - Source: Getty

Lewis Hamilton's comments about being "useless" came after failing to advance to Q3 at the Hungarian GP qualifying, while teammate Charles Leclerc took pole position. Even after the race, where Leclerc finished P4, while Hamilton finished P12, the 40-year-old shared that "there's a lot going on in the background that's not great."

His comments created quite a stir in the media and among fans. Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur shared his view of his driver's words, saying (via Crash.net):

"Lewis is very self-critical. He is always extreme in his reactions. Sometimes he is too hard on the car, sometimes on himself. He wants to get the most out of himself and everyone in the team. You have to calm him down and explain to him that in Q2 [in Hungary], he was only a tenth of a second behind the driver [Leclerc], who later took pole position. That’s no big deal.

The message he sends out only makes things worse. Most of the time, he’s only that extreme with the press. By the time he comes into the briefing room, he’s usually calmed down again. That’s just his way."

Ferrari is expected to be the closest challenger to McLaren in the second half of the season, beginning with the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend from August 29 to 31. Lewis Hamilton has had a tough time getting used to the Scuderia's operations and its SF-25 challenger, and his performance might not considerably improve under the current technical regulations in 2025.