Lewis Hamilton is regularly coming to phrases with the truth that he’s not ‘the child of the home’ at Ferrari and is going through appreciable cultural variations after his high-profile transfer from Mercedes. This angle comes from Eric Boullier, former Renault and Lotus workforce principal in addition to ex-McLaren racing director.
The Briton’s switch from Mercedes—a workforce that formed him right into a seven-time Method 1 world champion and helped him shatter quite a few information—to Ferrari, fulfilling a lifelong ambition to race for the enduring Scuderia, stays one of the talked-about transitions in F1 historical past.
Regardless of securing a dash race win earlier than the Chinese language Grand Prix early within the 2025 Method 1 season, the 40-year-old driver has discovered it difficult to go away a serious mark in common Grand Prix races. His greatest end up to now has been fourth place, narrowly lacking out on the rostrum on the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola.
Simply two weeks later, Lewis Hamilton left the Circuit de Catalunya after ending sixth in the Barcelona Grand Prix in Montmelo, showing puzzled and annoyed by his incapability to extract aggressive tempo from his Ferrari automotive.
Eric Boullier, who spent 4 years at Renault/Lotus and over 4 and a half years with McLaren, respects Lewis Hamilton’s determination to go away Mercedes and be a part of Ferrari, calling it a “very courageous transfer.” Nevertheless, he additionally acknowledges that difficulties had been all the time to be anticipated.
He defined that when a driver has achieved every little thing and is extensively considered the GOAT (Best of All Time), adapting to a brand new workforce, particularly one like Ferrari, is a big problem. Based on Boullier, shifting from Mercedes—a dominant high workforce with which Hamilton loved long-term success—to a different elite workforce reminiscent of Ferrari is much extra advanced than switching to a midfield squad.
On the subject of cultural adjustment, Eric Boullier drew parallels to Fernando Alonso’s struggles when he joined McLaren in 2007 after profitable two consecutive championships with Renault. Alonso anticipated preferential therapy at McLaren however discovered himself competing towards Hamilton, then a rookie, who rapidly grew to become the workforce’s focus.
The French motor racing engineer and supervisor highlighted that Lewis Hamilton is now experiencing an analogous dynamic at Ferrari with Charles Leclerc, the place the Briton is not the favored “child of the home.”
He noticed that Lewis Hamilton’s radio communications together with his race engineer recommend he’s nonetheless struggling to settle into the brand new workforce setting, and Eric Boullier believes it is going to take time for the seven-time Method 1 world champion to completely adapt to the brand new actuality. Additional, the previous racing director of the McLaren F1 Staff famous that Lewis Hamilton would have felt extra comfy being English in a British-based workforce like Mercedes, whose headquarters and energy unit services are positioned in Brackley and Brixworth, England.
Eric Boullier even in contrast Lewis Hamilton’s scenario to that of former F1 driver Romain Grosjean, whom he signed for Lotus in 2012 regardless of widespread skepticism. Many doubted Grosjean’s skills initially, however Boullier stood by him and was ultimately confirmed proper as Romain Grosjean grew to become a podium contender.
The previous workforce principal pressured that workforce tradition considerably impacts how properly a driver integrates, suggesting this can be a key problem for Lewis Hamilton at in Maranello.
He emphasised that whereas Hamilton’s velocity and standing as one of many best drivers in F1 historical past are undisputed, it’s clear that Charles Leclerc feels extra at dwelling inside Ferrari’s tradition, whereas Hamilton continues to be working to search out his place.
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