F1 News: Lewis Hamilton summoned to Maranello for Ferrari inquest

Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton summoned to Maranello for Ferrari inquest

Lewis Hamilton will have a meeting ahead of 2026

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 6 December 2025 07:58

Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton says a lot needs to change at Ferrari in order to make the partnership a success.

Hamilton joined the Maranello-based outfit back in January, pairing the most successful team in F1 history with the most successful F1 driver of all time.

However, the 40-year-old Brit has not even been able to claim a grand prix podium in 2025, and barring a remarkable performance in Abu Dhabi, it will be the first season of his career that he has not picked up a podium.

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On top of this, Ferrari have only been able to muster fourth in the constructors' championship as both Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc have regularly complained about the SF-25 car.

Hamilton has even recently said that he's not looking forward to 2026 despite wholesale new regulations sweeping into the sport which could provide Ferrari with an opportunity to properly compete once again.

Hamilton says he and the team will be meeting at Ferrari HQ over the next few weeks for a deep dive into the 2025 season, and to discuss how to turn them into a championship-challenging outfit once more. The team has not won an F1 title of any kind since 2008.

Hamilton on Ferrari 2025 inquest

"It’s not actually a straightforward process," Hamilton told media in Abu Dhabi.

"We’re obviously testing next week and then we go back to the factory and I’ve got to decide what my approach is, when it comes to sitting down with the stakeholders to make the decisions and how that approach is to create the change that’s needed.

"And then it terms of personal reflection, I mean, I literally every weekend have written down what I felt, what went wrong that weekend, the decisions I’ve taken so there’s a lot of learnings to do there. And I will, through my break, I will analyse those decisions and make markers on how I can make better decisions in the future.

"My surroundings in terms of personal personnel, team personnel, how you utilise people, whether people need to move into different positions to work better, all these different things need to be looked upon in my personal space so that we can optimise our teamwork."

Can Ferrari improve in 2026?

The wholesale regulation changes may well see a shake up of the competitive order in F1 in 2026, and Ferrari will be hoping that they can make a jump on their competitors.

McLaren and Red Bull have been the two teams challenging for the two titles this year, and Ferrari have been a long way off both teams, not even securing a single grand prix win between their drivers.

For Hamilton, the regulations reset will offer him the chance to drive a different generation of car that may be better suited to his talents, having claimed just two race wins across four seasons since the last reset in 2022.

He has a long way to go if he wants to challenge for an eighth world title next year, however, currently sat down in sixth in the drivers' championship in 2025 - and could still be usurped by rookie Kimi Antonelli in Abu Dhabi.

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Abu Dhabi Grand Prix