A former F1 driver has delivered a bleak assessment of Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari future after he described the seven-time world champion as ‘lost’.

Hamilton’s performance hit an additional low at the Spanish Grand Prix, where he lost fifth place on track to the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and finished behind his team-mate Charles Leclerc.

“Nigel Mansell won his championship in 1992, went to America in 1993, came back in 1994 and it didn’t work anymore for him. It happened with Michael Schumacher too, when he had his break and came back, then he wasn’t the same Schumacher as before.”

Inside Hamilton’s woeful Ferrari debut

Whilst both Hamilton and Leclerc initially failed to extract pace out of the SF-25, in recent races the younger of the pair has managed to find performance in his Ferrari and has earned three podiums.

Meanwhile, Hamilton sits 23 points behind Leclerc in the drivers’ standings with only a distant sprint race win in China and a P4 result in Imola to show for himself in 2025 thus far.

The champion’s former Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg has suggested that age is the main factor for Hamilton’s rough start with the Scuderia, particularly struggling in qualifying where he has been beaten by Leclerc on seven occasions in 2025.