F1 chief launches Lewis Hamilton defence, claims he still has his 'magic'

toto wolff, lewis hamilton, mercedes, ferrari, graphic — Photo: © IMAGO

Formula 1

F1 chief launches Lewis Hamilton defence, claims he still has his 'magic'

Lewis Hamilton has made a disappointing start to life at Ferrari

By Sam Cook.

Sunday 4 May 2025 21:00

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has defended Lewis Hamilton after a difficult start to the champion's Ferrari career.

Hamilton enjoyed the most dominant period of his career at Mercedes and alongside Wolff, where he won six drivers' titles and aided the team to eight consecutive constructors' championships.

However, Hamilton announced last year that he would be jumping ship and instead joining Ferrari, in a mouth-watering pairing of the most successful driver and the most iconic team in F1 history.

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Hamilton's move was supposed to propel Ferrari on to win their first title of any kind since 2008, while Hamilton was hoping to challenge for an unprecedented eighth world title, but both of those look a longshot already in 2025.

Hamilton sits down in seventh in the drivers' championship, while Ferrari are a long way off the early season form of McLaren and Mercedes.

"If he aligns all of his performance contributors, if he feels being in the right space, the car to his light liking, he will be stellar. I have no doubt about that."

Hamilton's nightmare Ferrari start

As well as only picking up 31 points from his first five grands prix weekends in Ferrari red, Hamilton has also been outperformed by team-mate Charles Leclerc, with the Monegasque driver fifth in the standings.

Leclerc has outqualified Hamilton on four occasions out of five so far in 2025, as the team have struggled to put themselves near the front.

Instead, it is Wolff's Mercedes team that have established themselves as McLaren's main challengers. Wolff has suggested that it will be hard for Hamilton to adapt, but that he will get there, revealing that he has spoken to the legend about his struggles.

"I'm also not surprised that it has those road bumps," Wolff continued. "He's been with us 12 years. The way of operating, he's being put in a Ferrari where his team-mate has been for a long, long time, and his team-mate clearly is one of the very good ones.

"If I look from the outside - and speaking to him - I think it's a trajectory that any new driver needs to go through in a top team."

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes Charles Leclerc F1 Toto Wolff