Lewis Hamilton is still only nine grands prix into his F1 move with Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton is starting to realise he is not ‘the baby of the house’ at Ferrari and that he still faces significant cultural differences following his move from Mercedes.
That is the verdict of former Renault and Lotus team principal, and former McLaren racing director Eric Boullier.
Hamilton’s switch from a team that turned him into a seven-time F1 champion, breaking numerous records in the process, to fulfil a long-held dream by racing for the Scuderia has been one of the most storied scenarios in the sport’s history.
Aside from winning the sprint ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix in the second race weekend of the year, the 40-year-old Hamilton has struggled to make a significant impact.
In a grand prix, Hamilton has finished no higher than fourth, the Briton just missing out on a podium in the Emilia Romagna race at Imola.
A fortnight later, Hamilton departed Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya on a very low ebb after finishing sixth in the Spanish Grand Prix, seemingly at a loss to understand why he could not extract any pace from his car.
Boullier, who was with Renault/Lotus for four years and a further four and a half with McLaren, appreciates Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari was “a very brave move”, but that there were always going to be difficulties.
“When you’ve won everything, and you’re the GOAT, I understand the challenge, and Ferrari is Ferrari,” said Boullier, speaking to RacingNews365.
“It shows a couple of things. Changing a team is quite significant for a driver, and the higher you are, being with Mercedes for so many years and going to Ferrari, another top team, it’s more difficult to adapt than switching, let’s say, to a midfield team.”
Hamilton compared to ‘rubbish’ Grosjean
Boullier feels that for Hamilton, “the cultural issue is quite strong”, recalling the problem Fernando Alonso endured when he joined McLaren in 2007 after winning back-to-back titles with Renault.
Alonso expected preferential treatment from McLaren, but with debutant Hamilton as his team-mate, he did not get it. It is likewise for Hamilton alongside Leclerc at Ferrari.
“I remember Fernando at McLaren in 2007, and he had the impression the team was not pushing for him because the baby of the house was Lewis,” said Boullier.
“Lewis is now realising this at Ferrari, that the baby of the house is not him, it’s Charles.
“We can see in his communication with his engineer that he’s struggling a bit. It’s going to take time, I guess.”
Boullier added that Hamilton would have felt “comfort being English in a British-based team” such as Mercedes, given its HQ and power unit facilities are in Brackley and Brixworth, respectively.
Boullier even likened Hamilton’s situation to that of former F1 driver Romain Grosjean. Boullier signed his fellow Frenchman for Lotus in 2012, despite warnings against.
“I’ve seen it, with Grosjean, bringing him in,” said Boullier. “People said, ‘No, we don’t want him. He’s rubbish!’ I said, ‘He’s not rubbish. He’s podium material’.
“It took them one year to tell me, ‘You are right boss, he is not too bad’.
“The culture has a huge impact on your integration into a team, and I guess this is a challenge for Lewis.
“We know he’s fast, we know he’s the greatest of all time, but you can see that one [driver] feels at home – Charles – and the other doesn’t feel at home yet.”