Ferrari don't trust Lewis Hamilton after Austrian Grand Prix driver switch

Ferrari's latest driver switch announcement may just point to the fact that they don't yet trust seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton's performance levels.

Charles Leclerc has been confirmed to be sitting out of FP1 at the Austrian Grand Prix, with youngster Dino Beganovic set to replace the Monegasque driver.

F1 HEADLINES: Hamilton stunned by surprise as Ferrari make Austria driver change

It will be the second time this season that Leclerc has sat out a practice session, with Beganovic making his F1 debut earlier this year at the Bahrain GP.

Teams are having to adapt to new rules which mean that rookie drivers have to be fielded in each car on at least two occasions in 2025, up from one per car in the 2024 season.

The natural way to go about this would surely be to simultaneously swap which driver is being replaced, but Ferrari have not done that.

Leclerc has now sat out two of the first 11 FP1 sessions, meaning that Hamilton will have to sit out two later in the season. Perhaps, in Ferrari's case, that points to how they feel about their two drivers right now.

Hamilton's performances have struggled so far in 2025, particularly in qualifying, as he attempts to get to grips with his new team and the SF-25 car.

It may be the case that Ferrari want him to take part in as many sessions as possible in the early season, and it hints at a lack of trust in the Brit's ability to be able to piece together a good weekend without having completed three full practice sessions.

Hamilton early season woes

So, where does this lack of trust come from, and why is Leclerc seemingly more able to miss a practice session and be unaffected by it?

Well, there is the fact that Leclerc has been with Ferrari since 2019. Although he and Hamilton have had the same amount of time to get used to the SF-25, Leclerc is not getting used to Ferrari processes and new personnel in his garage.

Or could the decision be linked to Hamilton's lack of points in the championship? Hamilton is currently 25 points behind Leclerc in the drivers' championship, and has not yet secured a grand prix podium in 2025, despite Leclerc having claimed three.

What's more, Hamilton has only outqualified Leclerc on three occasions in 2025, with poor qualifying performances regularly leaving him with too much to do in the race.

Ferrari's decision could be a sensible one. By the time it comes around to them having to fulfil the rookie quota in Hamilton's car, the 40-year-old could be back to his imperious best, and confidence levels may be high as he strengthens his relationships with his new colleagues.

That is certainly not the case at the moment, however, with Hamilton releasing a number of downbeat interviews in recent weeks about his performances, and frustrations with his team regarding the lack of upgrades to the car have been clear for all to see.

Will lack of practice affect Leclerc?

Strictly speaking, Hamilton does not need to give his seat up in FP1 until the 23rd and 24th races of the season if he doesn't want to, and by then he may be grateful for a bit of time out of the car after a long, gruelling season.

Leclerc, on the other hand, must face yet another disrupted weekend in Austria, following the Bahrain GP and last time out in Canada.

Leclerc crashed early on in FP1 in Canada, meaning he missed the majority of FP1 and the whole of FP2 as Ferrari struggled to repair his car.

That arguably hampered his weekend quite significantly, with the Monegasque driver going on to be outqualified by Hamilton on the Saturday, starting the race down in eighth.

The Bahrain replacement by Beganovic, however, did not affect Leclerc too much, with the 27-year-old still managing to outqualify Hamilton, starting the race up in third position.

He will be hoping that will be the case this weekend, while Hamilton needs to string together some consistent weekends to give Ferrari faith that they can begin to fulfil the rookie quota in his car, too.

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