'Game over' for Lewis Hamilton? Ex-Ferrari boss delivers startling Vettel prophecy

Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel stand side by side at the 2025 Brazilian Grand Prix — Photo: © IMAGO

Ferrari

'Game over' for Lewis Hamilton? Ex-Ferrari boss delivers startling Vettel prophecy

Maurizio Arrivabene was the Ferrari team principal between 2015-2018

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 19 December 2025 09:53

Former Ferrari F1 team principal Maurizio Arrivabene has warned seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton about trying to change too much at the team.

Hamilton suffered a torrid first season at the Maranello outfit, not even claiming a single grand prix podium as he finished down in sixth in the drivers' championship.

The Brit struggled to make any kind of an impact at the team on the track during 2025, but has been vocal about how the most successful outfit in the sport can return to winning ways.

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Both Hamilton and his team-mate Charles Leclerc have been talking about the changes that need to take place within the outfit, with Hamilton even confirming that he had sent various documents through to Maranello outlining his suggestions.

Now, Arrivabene - who was team principal between 2015-2018 at Ferrari - has suggested that four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel tried to do a similar thing during his time at the team.

Arrivabene has suggested that Vettel's notes were not helpful, and suggested that it equates to 'game over' when a driver starts trying to do more than just develop the car.

"It was Vettel who sent the dossiers," the Italian told Sky Italia. "He wrote, spoke and everything else. Useful things? No.

"It's not that I have anything against Sebastian, but everyone has to do their job. From this point of view, the driver's job is not only to drive, but also to develop the car.

"If the driver starts acting like an engineer, then it's game over."

Vettel's Ferrari era

Having won four world championships at Red Bull but seen the team drop off in their levels in 2014, Vettel opted to join Ferrari for the 2015 season, hoping to claim another championship title with them.

However, in six seasons with Ferrari, he was not able to add to that championship tally, despite claiming 14 race victories.

In later years, Vettel's form began to fall off, prompting his replacement at the team, but the German tried everything to try and get Ferrari back into championship-winning contention, with the team not having won a title of any kind since 2008.

Hamilton and Fred Vasseur are the Vettel-Arrivabene combination of their time, still trying to turn the Maranello outfit's fortunes around.

F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Sebastian Vettel