Lewis Hamilton has arrived at Zandvoort for the 2025 F1 Dutch Grand Prix looking to “drown out the noise” that has engulfed his underwhelming first season with Ferrari.
Speaking ahead of the weekend, Hamilton said he’s focused on tuning out the distractions and getting back to enjoying life behind the wheel. He’s still waiting for his first podium with Ferrari and has only 109 points on the board so far.
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Since F1 moved to its current points system in 2010, Hamilton has never had fewer points after 14 races than he does now. Even Bernie Ecclestone has weighed in, suggesting it might be time for Hamilton to consider retirement.
Before joining Ferrari, Hamilton had always picked up at least one podium in the first 10 rounds of every season across his 19-year career. The struggles came to a head before the summer break when he even remarked during the Hungarian GP that Ferrari “need to change driver.”
Lewis Hamilton’s struggles have the F1 paddock wondering where his magic has gone
After qualifying 12th for the Hungarian GP and finishing in the same position, Hamilton called himself “useless.” It was his first race finish without points for Ferrari, with 10 rounds remaining.
Hamilton is now facing questions about whether he can regain the form that once set him apart. Andrew Benson believes the slide started back when he was still at Mercedes and continued into this season.
Benson noted on The BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast: “He made some sort of uncharacteristic mistakes in qualifying in Spa. When have you ever seen him before get a track limits thing wrong in Q1 and not qualify as a result, like he did in Spain?
“And one of the questions that people are asking is it feels like, ‘Where’s the magic gone?’. Hamilton produced magic on a regular basis all the way throughout his career.
Benson added: “But it hasn’t really been happening for the last 18 months or so. I’m not sure why, and I’m not sure he knows why, either.”
Hamilton aiming to find his form again before 2026 F1 regulation changes
While questions are being asked around the paddock, George Russell has backed Hamilton, saying the criticism is off base. He pointed to Hamilton’s Sprint win in China earlier this year as evidence the veteran still has something left to give.
Hamilton did start 2025 strongly with a Sprint victory in Shanghai, but that hasn’t carried over into regular race weekends. His best Grand Prix results so far have been a trio of fourth-place finishes at Imola, Austria and Silverstone.
Following a tough outing in Hungary just before the summer break, Hamilton now has time to reset. With the season entering its final stretch, both he and Ferrari will be hoping he can string together a strong run and build some momentum heading into the new regulations for 2026.
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