Lewis Hamilton wants to make sure he one day leaves Ferrari’s Formula One team better than he found it.
That’s why he told reporters Thursday in advance of the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend that he’s giving input to Ferrari leaders about everything from improving the car to bolstering the way the organization works in hopes of pushing the team back to the top of the standings.
It’s been nearly 20 years since Ferrari won the drivers’ title — Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 — and the constructors’ title, last taking it in 2008.
And seven-time champ Hamilton said it’s time for the 75-year-old organization to reach its potential.
“If you look at the team, over the last 20 years, they’ve had amazing drivers,” Hamilton said, citing former world champions Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel. But neither had a championship season while part of the Ferrari garage.
“I refuse for that to be the case with me,” said Hamilton, 40, who previously raced with McLaren and Mercedes before joining Ferrari in January.
Hamilton has yet to reach a podium with Ferrari and stands sixth in the drivers’ standings. He said he has met with Ferrari officials and also sent memos to them to outline changes that need to be made across the board. That starts with his car.
“It is a huge organization, and there’s a lot of moving parts, and not all of them are firing on all the cylinders that need to be,” he said. “That’s ultimately why the team’s not had the success that I think it deserves. So I feel that it’s my job to challenge absolutely every area, to challenge everybody in the team, particularly the guys that are at the top who are making the decisions.”
Hamilton said Ferrari has been “incredibly responsive” to his feedback and that he is starting to see needed improvements in the organization.
“Take the same path all the time, you get the same results. So I’m just challenging certain things.”
Hamilton knows he has only so many races left in his career and wants to be part of a winner.
“It’s crunch time,” he said. “I truly believe in the potential of this team. I really, really believe that they can win multiple world championships moving forward. They already have an amazing legacy, but during my time, that’s my sole goal.”
Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc, who is fifth in the drivers’ standings, have Ferrari in second place in the constructors’ standings — but far behind the leader — heading into Sunday’s race at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Behind Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, who are fighting for the individual title, McLaren has 460 points to 222 for Ferrari.
–Field Level Media
