Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko has claimed that Charles Leclerc was “much faster” than Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton in F1 2025 pre-season testing in Bahrain.

And he believes Hamilton’s motivation could suffer if he sees “no chance of winning” this season.

No wins? Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton warned motivation ‘lost’

Hamilton has embraced a new challenge this season, saying goodbye to Mercedes after 12 years and six World Championships to target a record eighth crown overall with Ferrari.

It’s the stuff of fairytales: Formula 1’s most successful driver ever joining the sport’s most successful and iconic team with one goal in mind, ending an 18-year drought and making history in the process.

Added to the enthralling storyline, should Hamilton succeed in that objective with an eighth crown, he would break the record set by Ferrari legend Michael Schumacher.

But after pre-season testing, it does not appear as if the fairytale is going according to plan.

Despite claims coming out of Italy that Ferrari had found four tenths of a second with the SF-25, the SF-25 fell short of McLaren’s benchmark.

PlanetF1.com’s best guess over the initial F1 2025 pecking order, based on conversations with teams across the paddock and impressions from watching the cars trackside, puts Ferrari fourth behind rivals McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes.

Since pre-season testing concluded, it has been said that Ferrari’s technical director Loic Serra and his team ‘are looking for the right setup adjustments‘ to find the right balance and unlock the true pace of the SF-25 car while former F1 technical director Gary Anderson said it “does not look as though the new Ferrari is a great upgrade on last year’s Mercedes W15.”

And according to Marko, it’s Hamilton who was the slowest of the two Ferrari drivers during testing despite the Briton finishing with the Scuderia’s fastest time over the three days.

“In Bahrain, Leclerc was the much faster one,” the Red Bull motorsport advisor told sport.de.

“But that’s normal. He knows the team, he knows the car. Hamilton drove a lot of laps, gradually improved, but was not quite at Leclerc’s level.”

But don’t for a second discount the seven-time World Champion with Marko saying he has the ability to improve every time he in the car.

“Only the first race is coming,” he continued, “and we know that a Hamilton, if the whole environment fits, can improve incredibly.

“One is a [multiple] World Champion, the other is chasing his first title, but is one of the best qualifiers.

“And because the field is relatively close together, three or four tenths of a second difference in qualifying can make up three to five grid positions.

“And you know how difficult overtaking is these days. So from this point of view, it is crucial for Hamilton to be able to evaluate the first qualifying sessions on equal footing with Leclerc. But that’s certainly not easy.”

But if there isn’t a “fit”, no matter how out-of-this-world Hamilton’s ability is to take strides forward, he could lose motivation.

“He went to Ferrari of his own volition,” Marko added. “He was looking for this new challenge and I think he will do everything he can to ensure that his expectations are met.

“As I said, these are early days. And again, Hamilton can both supernaturally improve, but it could also be that if the factors don’t fit together, he sees no chance of winning, that he then loses some of his motivation.”

Hamilton and Ferrari will face their first true test next weekend when the F1 circus heads to Australian for round one of the F1 2025 World Championship.