F1 news: Maurizio Arrivabene says ‘It’s over’ for Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari future
Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari was meant to represent one final, defining challenge, but his debut season provided little hope.
Here, Sports News Blitz’s Noah Ngcobo examines Arrivabene’s blunt assessment and the deeper implications it carries for Hamilton’s future in red.
Arrivabene raises early alarm bells
Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari chapter has barely begun, yet doubts are already surfacing about how long it can realistically last.
Those doubts have been fuelled by former Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene, whose blunt assessment of Hamilton’s behaviour behind the scenes has framed the relationship in the starkest possible terms.
In his view, the warning signs suggest that for Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton, “it’s over.”
A rocky first season in red
Hamilton joined Ferrari for the 2025 Formula 1 season amid huge expectations.
The reality proved far more difficult. He ended the year without a single podium finish and finished a considerable distance behind Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ standings.
The lack of results quickly turned attention toward the dynamics inside the team rather than the headline signing itself.
READ MORE: F1 news: What’s next for Lewis Hamilton after a difficult first season at Ferrari?
Hamilton pushes for change
Rather than quietly enduring a tough campaign, Hamilton chose to involve himself deeply in Ferrari’s internal processes.
Across the season, he held numerous meetings with senior figures and submitted multiple written documents outlining areas he believed required improvement.
These submissions addressed car development direction, suspension concepts, communication between departments, and the overall execution of race weekends.
Hamilton explained that he sent an initial document after the opening races, followed by further reports during the mid-season break, with additional feedback believed to have followed later in the year.
His motivation, he said, was simple. He refused to follow the path of other world champions who left Ferrari without delivering a title.
Arrivabene’s blunt verdict
Arrivabene sees Hamilton’s approach as a familiar mistake.
Drawing on his experience at Ferrari, he compared the situation directly to Sebastian Vettel’s time with the team.
Vettel, Arrivabene recalled, also produced extensive dossiers and shared his views widely across the organisation.
In his estimation, those efforts achieved little. His conclusion was uncompromising. When a driver starts trying to act like an engineer, the balance is lost, and that is the moment when “it’s over.”
He argued that drivers offer their greatest value through precise feedback from the cockpit, while the technical detail must remain the responsibility of the engineers.
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Old lessons from Maranello
The parallels are uncomfortable for Ferrari.
Arrivabene previously had to publicly remind Vettel to focus on driving during difficult periods, and similar messages have resurfaced more recently from Ferrari president John Elkann, who urged both Hamilton and Leclerc to talk less and concentrate on performance after a disastrous weekend.
Adding another layer of irony, Hamilton had sought Vettel’s advice before joining Ferrari.
The two spoke several times, and Hamilton was seen taking handwritten notes during testing, a practice long associated with Vettel’s meticulous working style.
Vettel has since acknowledged that success at Ferrari requires many elements to align, from people and timing to trust and patience.
Strain or determination?
Despite the criticism, Ferrari insiders insist the relationship is not as strained as it appears.
Head of track engineering Matteo Togninalli has played down suggestions of conflict, portraying Hamilton’s involvement as constructive rather than disruptive.
Still, Arrivabene’s words linger.
Whether Hamilton’s deep engagement becomes the foundation for a revival or the clearest sign yet that the partnership is already reaching its limits will define this chapter of his career.
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