Lewis Hamilton growing frustrated at Ferrari as internal politics stall progress

Hamilton thought he’d have more input over key decisions when he joined, but instead has run into the same internal politics that have plagued Ferrari in the past.

This isn’t a new issue at Maranello. Sebastian Vettel ran into similar problems during his stint with Ferrari. In 2019, he was pushed into a secondary role behind Charles Leclerc, which played a part in his departure the following year.

Vettel’s first season in 2015 came with some positives – the car wasn’t perfect, but it was reliable enough to make the most of opportunities when they came up. A decade later, Hamilton hasn’t had that same base to work from.

Lewis Hamilton isn’t willing to repeat Vettel’s story at Ferrari

While sending over documents, Hamilton made it clear he’s determined to fight for a world title with the team. He doesn’t want his time there to end like Sebastian Vettel or Fernando Alonso, who both left without championships.

“I see a huge amount of potential within this team,” Hamilton told RaceFans. “The passion: nothing comes close to that.

“But it’s a huge organisation, and there are a lot of moving parts. And not all of them are firing on all the cylinders that they need to be. That’s ultimately why the team has not had the success that I think it deserves.

“So I feel that it’s my job to challenge absolutely every area, to challenge everybody in the team. Particularly the guys that are at the top who are making the decisions.

“If you look at the team over the last 20 years, they’ve had amazing drivers: Kimi [Raikkonen]*, Fernando [Alonso], Sebastian [Vettel] – all world champions. However, they didn’t win a world championship [at Ferrari]. And for me, I refuse for that to be the case with me.”