Johnny Herbert: Ferrari always on that back foot, they're never able to get on the front foot
F1 Teams NewsThursday, 21 May 2026 at 08:00
Johnny Herbert believes Ferrari’s inability to develop its car at the same rate as rivals has left Lewis Hamilton without a realistic shot at an eighth Formula 1 world title while struggling to beat teammate Charles Leclerc.
Ferrari entered the 2026 campaign with expectations of mounting a sustained championship challenge after flashes of strong pace during the opening rounds. However, the Scuderia has once again struggled to match the relentless development curve set by rivals such as McLaren and Mercedes.
The team has shown competitive speed at certain circuits and sessions, but has repeatedly failed to maintain momentum across full race weekends, continuing a pattern that has frustrated Hamilton, Leclerc and Ferrari alike.
Herbert believes Ferrari exposed its early-season performance too soon and has since been overtaken by teams that have unlocked more from their packages: “At the beginning of the season, Ferrari looked strong. There have been occasions that they look strong at the beginning of a weekend.
“They showed their cards a little bit earlier than everybody else; but other teams have been able to turn it all up and basically Ferrari aren’t a worry for the other teams," said the former Formula 1 driver
Ferrari haven’t been able to take two jumps forward
Ferrari’s ongoing development issues have become a recurring theme in recent seasons despite major investment and restructuring efforts at Maranello. While rivals continue bringing upgrades that deliver immediate gains, Ferrari has often struggled to convert updates into consistent performance improvements.
Herbert suggests that this has left the Italian team permanently reacting rather than leading the development race: “It's just one of those frustrating situations. They haven’t been able to take two jumps forward and harness that performance that everybody else is able to.
“Again, it shows that the ingredients needed from the engineering isn't quite on the same level as it is with other teams especially like McLaren. They're the ones that just seem to be able to always improve on what they started with.
“Ferrari is a much slower development. They're always sort of on that back foot, they're never able to get on the front foot," explained Herbert.
Hamilton won’t win the championship
Hamilton’s move to Ferrari was seen as one of the defining stories of the new Formula 1 era, with hopes the seven-time world champion could finally deliver the Scuderia’s first drivers’ title since 2007.
But Herbert sees little chance of that happening this year as Ferrari continues fighting to close the gap to the frontrunners: "Hamilton won’t win the championship. It’s another year when it isn’t quite going to happen for him.”
Despite that assessment, Herbert believes Ferrari can eventually rebuild itself into a title-winning operation if it strengthens its technical structure and aggressively targets elite engineering talent: “But the thing is you never know. There is going to be a point when Ferrari is going to get it right.
“What they need to do is to make sure when top talent becomes available, Ferrari needs to be there, banging on the door, ready, at the front of the queue to get them into your team. At the moment they're not quite able to do that," ventured Herbert.
For Hamilton, as Ferrari fumble along, the next order of business is to reel in the clear advantage his teammate Leclerc has enjoyed since the Briton arrived at Maranello. Stats show that Charles has out qualified Lewis 22 times to 6, and beaten him 20 to 5 in races.
(Johnny Herbert quotes supplied by Jackpot City Casino)
(Johnny Herbert quotes supplied by Jackpot City Casino)
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