A trip over the track markings cost Lewis Hamilton a better starting position. © APA/afp / DIMITAR DILKOFF

Hamilton under heavy pressure at Ferrari

After his second serious mistake within two days, the pressure on Formula 1 record world champion Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari is increasing.

July 27, 2025

From: dpa/sn

“A disaster” was what the Italian sports daily called Journal of Sport 16th place in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. And "Corriere della Serra" wrote of a "nightmare weekend" for the 40-year-old, who showed unusual weaknesses in Spa-Francorchamps.

"He lacks confidence. It's a difficult weekend for him," said Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur. In qualifying for the sprint, Briton Hamilton finished only 18th and could only improve to 15th in the short race. The fact that the seven-time champion finished only 15.00th in qualifying for Sunday's race (16:XNUMX p.m.) caused even more frustration. World Championship points are once again hard to come by.

“That was a very, very poor performance from me.” Lewis Hamilton

"It's devastating for the team; a result like this is unacceptable," said Hamilton. He apologized to his racing team: "That was another mistake on my part." On Friday, Hamilton braked far too late and spun off the track on his fast lap. On Saturday, he drove too aggressively and ended up outside the track markings. His best time was deleted as a result, and once again the 105-time Grand Prix winner was eliminated in the first part of the knockout phase.

“One car delivers, the other doesn’t”

"This is a very, very poor performance from me," Hamilton told the TV cameras. "I really need to take a look inside myself now." He didn't want to blame his often difficult-to-drive car for the setbacks. "It's a huge disappointment; the car was fine."

Teammate Charles Leclerc showed that things can be better. The Monegasque driver raced to a surprising third place on the grid and is chasing McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the 13th race of the season. "One car is performing, the other isn't. That's unacceptable, and I feel really bad for the team," said Hamilton. He had hoped for much more in his first season with the Scuderia after the spectacular switch from Mercedes.