Lewis Hamilton domination triggers 'conflict' at Ferrari

Former F1 team boss Guenther Steiner has claimed Lewis Hamilton's global stardom directly clashes with Ferrari's brand as the most iconic team on the grid.

Hamilton joined Ferrari earlier this year, but not everything has gone as he would have hoped, failing to score a grand prix podium across the first 12 races with his new team.

The seven-time world champion was brought in to try and propel Ferrari to their first world title of any kind since 2008 having finished just 14 points behind McLaren in 2024, but the team are already 238 points behind their papaya rivals this season.

What's more, Hamilton is sat all the way down in sixth in the drivers' championship, behind new team-mate Charles Leclerc, a stark contrast to the domination he experienced in the championship with former team Mercedes.

And as Hamilton's first season in red reaches the halfway mark, Steiner has suggested there is a direct 'conflict' between Hamilton and Ferrari for whose profile is bigger, the team or the driver.

"I think in Formula 1 the only one above a team is Lewis Hamilton," the ex-Haas boss told the Business of Sport podcast. "His presence, his stature, it is like it's very big outside of the sport as well.

"Because that’s how it goes, you're big in the sport but then when you get big outside of the sport you're bigger than the actual team.

"I think in Formula 1, the only one which can claim that is Lewis. I think Max [Verstappen] is very big in the sport but he doesn't work on being somebody outside of the sport because for him, his life is racing cars.

"You know Lewis has got another thing as well, what he wants to achieve in life. I think we see it now with Lewis and Ferrari there are two huge brands together and it's almost sometimes a conflict you know, who is bigger Ferrari or Lewis?"

When asked if he would have paired Hamilton with Ferrari had he been in charge of the Scuderia, Steiner explained: "No, because I don’t think Ferrari needs that. That's my opinion, I'm not running Ferrari as a corporate.

"I think it’s a cool story to be honest, a seven time world champion going to Ferrari, Ferrari was doing good, but I think we put the expectations so high, so now we’ve got a little bit like the expectation is not fulfilled. You know we are a little, 'oh, this doesn't work and now we're depressed about it,'" Steiner concluded.

Can Hamilton turn it around at Ferrari?

Hamilton had decided to ditch Mercedes in order to try and secure a record-breaking eighth world championship title, but while Ferrari's car performance struggles have left him often scrapping for a place in the top five, his form has done nothing to suggest he can claim that elusive eighth championship yet.

The Brit has been out-qualified by Leclerc on eight out of 12 occasions so far in 2025, and the Monegasque driver is sat 16 points ahead of him in the championship.

Even when 2025 podium sitters Leclerc, Verstappen, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were all out of contention at the British Grand Prix, Hamilton was still unable to get himself onto the podium, with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg beating him to the third and final spot.

With new regulations entering the sport in 2026, Hamilton will be hoping to use the remainder of 2025 to get better settled into the team and boost his confidence, ahead of a potential championship battle next year.

The 40-year-old currently has a contract with the Scuderia until the end of next season, and how Ferrari adapts to the new era of F1 will prove pivotal in Hamilton's decision to stay or leave the sport.

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