Toto Wolff doesn't "feel sorry" for Lewis Hamilton amid Ferrari troubles: "He's a monster of a driver"

F1 Italian Grand Prix 2025 - Source: Getty
Toto Wolff with Lewis Hamilton at the 2025 F1 Italian Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has shared that no one should "feel sorry" for Lewis Hamilton despite the slump he finds himself in during his first season with Ferrari. The Austrian emphasized that the seven-time F1 champion is still a "monster of a driver," with a turnaround in performance not far away.

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There was a ton of hype surrounding Hamilton's switch to Ferrari, but his results this year have been underwhelming. He has yet to earn a podium finish in a feature race with the Scuderia, with a trio of P4 results as his best. The Briton's lights-to-flag Sprint Race victory in China has been the highlight of his season so far.

Lewis Hamilton's woes were amplified after a poor Hungarian GP weekend pre-summer break, which impacted him mentally, and a crash at the Dutch GP post-summer break, which was caused by a driver error.

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Toto Wolff spoke honestly about his former driver's poor run in a recent interaction with the Dutch press. He said (via RN365):

"No one should ever feel sorry for Lewis Hamilton, because he's still a 'monster' of a driver. He's just had a few incredibly frustrating moments recently, but that's been the case with us as well. He needs one or two good weekends. If he succeeds, we'll see a completely different Lewis Hamilton."
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Hamilton found his mojo at the recently concluded Italian Grand Prix, which was his first home race as a Ferrari driver at Monza. Though the final result was a normal P6 finish, the 40-year-old felt revitalized because of the "incredible love" from the passionate Tifosi.

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Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur, who admitted that Hamilton had better race pace than Charles Leclerc at Monza, thanked the Tifosi for giving the seven-time F1 champion an "extra boost" during the race weekend.

Contrastingly, the 40-year-old driver's former team had a subpar weekend. George Russell finished P5, and Andrea Kimi Antonelli secured a P9 finish. Toto Wolff was unhappy with Mercedes' results, and he labeled Antonelli's performance "underwhelming."

Toto Wolff admits Lewis Hamilton had "every reason" to leave Mercedes for Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton with Toto Wolff at the F1 Italian Grand Prix - Source: Getty
Lewis Hamilton with Toto Wolff at the F1 Italian Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Lewis Hamilton's exit from Mercedes didn't seem to be the most amicable. Toto Wolff was taken aback when the seven-time champion informed him about the 2025 Ferrari switch, which would end their 13-year partnership during a low phase for Mercedes.

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In a recent interview, Toto Wolff also admitted that their split was for the best and that he understood Hamilton's side.

"He had every reason to leave for Ferrari, and those reasons are still valid. He needed a change of scenery, and so did we. We were not that competitive, and Ferrari looked better at the time. Every driver wants to drive for Ferrari, and Lewis loves the color red. In addition, he was also offered a very good contract," Wolff said.

Both parties eventually made peace with the divorce, with Wolff becoming Hamilton's cheerleader this season. After the latter's Hungarian GP debacle, when the Ferrari driver called himself "useless," the Mercedes Team Principal publicly hyped his former driver, calling him F1's "GOAT."

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Edited by Yash Kotak
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