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Max Verstappen Exposes Lewis Hamilton’s ‘Not Easy’ Ferrari Challenge

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Armaan Agarwal | Last updated Sep 5, 2025 1:32 AM ET

Lewis Hamilton‘s debut campaign at Ferrari has not met expectations. The first half of the season was quite difficult for the seven-time world champion. The British driver has failed to match his teammate Charles Leclerc at Maranello so far this year. Now, Max Verstappen has asserted that a switch to the Scuderia was never going to be easy for Hamilton.

In the first half of the season, Lewis Hamilton has not grabbed even a single podium finish. Although, the 40-year-old took a sprint victory in China. The situation only got worse as time went on. The seven-time world champion even lashed out after Hungary and called himself absolutely useless for Maranello. This rant took place after Hamilton found himself nowhere close to Leclerc.

Max Verstappen pointed out that when Lewis Hamilton joined Ferrari, Charles Leclerc had already well established himself within the team. The Monegasque driver joined the Scuderia in 2019 and even earned the biggest contract extension in the team’s history. The four-time world champion highlighted that things were never going to be easy for Hamilton. Not only was Leclerc at the team for far longer, he was able to integrate himself completely within Maranello and even spoke Italian. Moreover, the 40-year-old had a harder time understanding the car.

He [Lewis] of course joined a team that already has a very strong driver with Charles. So it’s never going to be easy to immediately go in there and start beating your teammate that is well integrated, knows the team very well, speaks the language. These cars can be quite complicated at times to fully understand why you’re quick or not, basically.
Max Verstappen told GPBlog

Max Verstappen pinpoints Ferrari dream problem

Ferrari is the most iconic name in the world of racing. Every driver dreams of racing for the Prancing Horse at one point in their career. In the past, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel even proclaimed that everyone in F1 is a Ferrari fan, even if they worked at a rival team. However, this emotional attachment to the Scuderia is not enough according to Max Verstappen.

The four-time world champion highlighted that every driver sees themselves race for Ferrari someday. Though, the Dutchman reckoned that this is what really started the problem, perhaps hinting at Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen asserted that driving for Ferrari is not enough, winning is the ultimate goal. Thus, the Red Bull declared that he would only ever consider racing for the Maranello when he knows that he really has a chance of fighting for the world championship at the Italian team.

I think Ferrari is a massive brand, and of course all the drivers, they see and they picture themselves of, ‘I would like to drive for Ferrari,’ but I think that’s also where the mistake comes, just to drive for Ferrari. If you want to drive for Ferrari, you want to win. So if I would ever want to go there, I don’t go there just to drive for Ferrari, I go there because I see the opportunity to win. And if you win with Ferrari, that’s even better.
Max Verstappen explained

Certainly, Max Verstappen did not mince his words over the Ferrari love affair in Formula 1. Although, the 27-year-old understands why someone like Lewis Hamilton would make such a move. But racing for Maranello is never easy. Even stars like Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso have suffered from disastrous runs at the Italian team in the past.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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