Flavio Briatore has questioned Lewis Hamilton’s commitment to F1 ‘when the car isn’t good’ ahead of his move to Ferrari in 2025. The legendary Brit is statistically the most decorated F1 driver in history but has been left frustrated by a string of three uncompetitive cars since losing out on the 2021 World Championship.
Hamilton kept faith in his Mercedes crew throughout this ordeal and often made trips to the factory to lend his support to the team at Brackley. However, after recording P7 and P9 finishes to kickstart the 2024 campaign, the 39-year-old made his frustrations known in Saudi Arabia.
“It’s frustrating for sure to be three years in a row in almost the same position,” he said. “Or it’s definitely tough, but we’ll get our heads down and we’ll keep working away, and I know everyone back at the factory is pushing as hard as they can, but we’ve definitely got to make some big changes.”
Now Briatore – who is currently Fernando Alonso’s manager – is debating whether or not Hamilton can be the figure to lift Ferrari out of their World Championship slump and restore them to the forefront of the F1 grid.
“The car must improve,” Briatore told Italian broadcaster Rai 1. “With those gaps, no driver can make the difference. If Hamilton was already at Ferrari today, he would do the same things as Leclerc, who is a fast driver, although often underestimated.
“In the end, he might struggle to stay ahead of Charles because he is one of those drivers who doesn’t put much effort into it if the car isn’t good.”
Briatore isn’t the only prominent F1 figure to question the seven-time world champion’s commitment. Former Red Bull driver David Coulthard suggested that Hamilton had mentally checked out of Mercedes following a P9 finish in Saudi Arabia.
“He’s just not been settled with this car,” he told Channel 4. “And you can tell, you know, George is just honing the lap time right now and you can feel that Lewis is on the back foot.
“What we do know though, if he does find a window of performance, then you know he will deliver. But right now, it’s looking like his decision to head off to Ferrari, mentally, he is already there.”
