Ex-F1 Driver Declares Ferrari Can’t 'Operate at the Highest Level' with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc

Ferrari has faced a stiff challenge from its rivals in the 2025 season as they have failed to put forth the best results for the team. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are giving it their all to perform well, but have failed to achieve success so far. With the season finale inching closer, ex-F1 driver Derek Daly insists that Maranello cannot operate at the highest level with their current lineup of Leclerc and Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton had entered Ferrari with high hopes of being able to contend for his record-breaking eighth driver’s title in Formula 1. However, throughout the 2025 season, Hamilton has barely been competitive, and his best result so far is only a sprint race win in China. Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, has been consistent in results but has yet to win a race in the first 18 outings. With the team’s current failures, Derek Daly reckons that it wouldn’t turn around anytime soon.

Derek Daly pointed out that every team that operated at the highest levels had two drivers with opposite skill sets from one another. He explained that the drivers needed instant reflex and to extract the maximum performance available in the car. Daly noted that the cars were already going as fast as possible when either Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc operated them, which wasn’t really good.

Every team that operates at the highest levels, in my opinion, has two drivers that are opposite types of skills, Instant reflex, in other words, drive the wheels off anything, anytime. Whenever they’re in the car, the car is going as fast it can possibly go. 

Derek Daly told RacingNews365.

On the other hand, there were ‘feel good’ drivers who had a great feel of the car and provided detailed feedback to the engineers to fix the car. Derek Daly explained that one driver fed off the other’s feedback and achieved combined success. However, Ferrari currently has two instant reflex drivers in Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, which has caused their ultimate downfall in performance.

And then you have a feel-sensitive driver who can read it, report on it, give feedback, the engineers rely on him and then he can develop a fast car. One pushes and feeds off the other. Right now, Ferrari has two instant reflex guys.

Derek Daly added.

Ferrari’s condition to ‘not change’ in 2026 with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc

Ferrari’s performance only seems to deteriorate throughout the 2025 season, even though they held the runner-up spot for quite some time. The team quickly lost the P2 position to Mercedes mid-way through the year and is under threat from Red Bull for the P3 spot. As such, with its current conditions with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, Derek Daly noted that the situation wouldn’t change even under new regulations.