Editor's Desk: Ferrari a destroyer of Champions?

Now, as many of you know, I am a Ferrari fan, a miserable Tifoso, that is, but I am never shy in criticizing them when I believe they have messed up, and believe me, reasons for criticism have been abundant over the years.

Last year, the deal of the decade, or perhaps the century, was announced. Lewis Hamilton will race for Ferrari starting from the 2025 F1 season.

It was a matter of when rather than if such a deal will happen; arguably, the two biggest brands in our sport are joining forces, and if things go to plan, Ferrari will end their Title drought while Lewis will deliver a final hurrah, win that elusive eighth, and then retire.

We cannot ignore the financial and marketing part of such a deal. The day Ferrari announced Hamilton was joining, their stock skyrocketed, making sure the Briton's astronomical salary was already paid, and from there on, both parties can reap the rewards of their collaboration.

But how wrong we were, as aside from his win in the Sprint Race in China, Hamilton endured one of his worst, if not the worst, seasons in F1, never featuring on the podium, a first for the seven-time F1 Champion, who was comprehensively beaten by Charles Leclerc, Ferrari's chosen one and team darling, who was nurtured from the junior ranks to the top flight.

Although Hamilton struggled at Mercedes before joining Ferrari, as he never seemed to be on top of the handling of the outgoing ground effect F1 cars, and although he was also thumped by George Russell, the lows he has reached with Ferrari were stunning.

Bear with me now as I go a bit into history, and while I am a Tifoso, I have to admit that Ferrari do not hold their drivers in high regard. We know how their legend, Michael Schumacher, was shown the door to let Kimi Raikkonen in.

Before that, and before he delivered his first Title in Red in 2000, we also know that Ferrari were contemplating letting him go, as they thought he took too much time to deliver. Luckily for them, it was the Jean Todt, Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne, and Schumacher "pact" that ensured the German remained with the team.

Then Raikkonen came and won his only Title in 2007, and after that he couldn't be bothered and was replaced by double F1 Champion Fernando Alonso, who finished as runner-up in three of the five seasons he raced with Ferrari, taking on the dominant Sebastian Vettel, who was with Red Bull and later replaced him from 2015 onwards.

Alonso never failed Ferrari; on the contrary, they did, either with poor-performing cars or with their infamously stupid race executions and strategies. He left Ferrari frustrated, and it was only his "I don't give a sh!t" attitude that meant he was mentally solid, as the situation with the team became quite poisonous at some point, his attitude a contributing factor no less.

But regardless, Alonso did not achieve the third F1 Title he deserves with his best chance that he missed were those seasons at Ferrari when he was still in his prime.

Vettel realized his dream of driving for Ferrari after a miserable 2014 season with Red Bull as Renault dropped the ball massively with their first V6 turbo-hybrid power unit.

The German arrived in Maranello as a fresh young four-time Champion and had a great start to his career in red, reaching the podium 13 times in 2015, three of those wins in Malaysia, Hungary, and Singapore. And all that during the era of utter Mercedes/Hamilton domination.

2016 was not that good for Vettel, but the rule changes ahead of 2017 meant he started that season with a win and launched his first Championship challenge against Hamilton but fell short by less than 50 points and was runner-up due to a combination of errors from him and the team, more so from the team though.

In 2018, Vettel also started with a win and was in a decent Championship battle until that fateful moment in Germany when he crashed while leading in mixed conditions. Mind you, it was his mistake, but he was driving under pressure with Hamilton chasing him down after Ferrari compromised him with the strategy.

From there on, things began to unravel for Seb, with many errors and unjustified spins, with matters getting worse when Leclerc joined in 2019, and the once-team leader started to feel the loss of support, which shifted to the other side of the garage, where the little prince resided.

Vettel, who we know needs to feel the team's support, spiraled down from there on and was unceremoniously replaced by Carlos Sainz from 2021 onwards and went on to Aston Martin, a broken man after spending six seasons fighting with rivals on track as well as within Ferrari, which happened to change team principals two times during his foray, hardly a stable environment.

Sainz showed Ferrari that he was a match for Leclerc, but then he was given his marching orders, and Hamilton came in.

While I am a Seb fan, and I was always aggrieved by how he was treated at Ferrari, I have to admit I am not a Hamilton fan. I have huge respect for his F1 record and achievements, but a fan, I am not.

And for that I hope that my assessment will be objective as I touch on Hamilton's maiden season with the Scuderia, a topic GrandPrix247 Editor-in-Chief Paul Velasco and I have exhaustingly discussed.

Now, Paul refuses to give any justification for Lewis and says that he should simply drive, beat Leclerc, and get on with it, and after that everything will fall into place.

However, I believe that, despite being over 40 now, Lewis has not forgotten how to drive an F1 car fast, and China's Sprint was an example, but then he needs the proper conditions around him to operate, and I do not feel that condition has been met by Ferrari.

It is still Leclerc's team, and Hamilton is trying to integrate himself into a totally different environment and work culture from the one he thrived in at Mercedes. There is the language barrier as well.

His awkward radio communications with his race engineer are proof that something is amiss in the relationship between team and driver, which is not helping, as Hamilton is an emotional beast, a bit like Seb in that regard, but not so much like Alonso.

I said it before, that Ferrari, in their current pitiful state, should listen when Hamilton, a driver who knows what it takes to win, says something, take note, and do their best to deliver what he asks. They did not and are not.

Leclerc, on the other hand, has been with them for a while, knows how things go down there, and is either resigned or happy in a comfort zone where he can always blame the team or the car for bad results. Only when he chooses to leave Ferrari will we know his true mettle.

As for Hamilton, I believe we need to see how he gets on in 2026 and then decide if he is beyond his sell-by date or not.

But until then, and with the example of three different Champions with different characters—Alonso, Vettel, and Hamilton—I believe Ferrari is the place F1 Champions go to and get destroyed, not from a fault of their own, but due to how dysfunctional this legendary team currently is.