3 major Lewis Hamilton red flags that could potentially hurt Ferrari in 2025

Lewis Hamilton begins life at Ferrari in 2025, and by the looks of it, the Tifosi are already enamored by the fact that the seven-time world champion will be joining the team. Hamilton is, for the lack of a better word, 'Blockbuster' in F1. The driver revels in the spotlight, and if there is one driver who gets a lot of it, it's him.

The induction has been amazing, and the way the Ferrari fans gathered to see him was heartwarming. But when we talk about Formula 1, while all this is fine, the real thing is what happens on track. As is often said, 'the stopwatch never lies' and there's truth to that.

At 40, Hamilton is starting a new journey in F1, but a few red flags should not be ignored. Let's take a look.

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#1 Lewis Hamilton's struggles with the ground effect cars

It's safe to say that since 2022, Lewis Hamilton's complaints about being completely at sea with the car have been rampant. The driver has not had the best run driving the ground effect cars in the last three years, and more often than not, he's had more complaints than usual.

This also prompted Mercedes to acknowledge that the ground effect cars are not as suitable to Hamilton's style, thus leading to the driver's struggles. For 2025, he's heading to Ferrari and will have a car under him that is built exclusively with Charles Leclerc's feedback. He has to adapt to a car built to cater to his teammate, but there are other key challenges. He will be trying to adapt to the Ferrari power unit. He would also have to immerse himself in the Italian team culture, something that only happens through repetitions.

For a driver seemingly notorious in adapting to a new car, the first season in a Ferrari might not be the best version of Hamilton we see. When you have paid the big bucks for a driver like the Italian team's, this might not be the best outcome the big bosses would have hoped for.

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#2 Lewis Hamilton has never ceded being the 'Alpha' in a team

A bigger red flag, probably running through Fred Vasseur's mind, is that Lewis Hamilton has always been the lead driver throughout his career. He's not someone who has either ceded ground to a teammate or been someone who would make way for the other guy in the cockpit at any point in his career. The fact that he hasn't done so since 2007 indicates that he is more or less wired this way.

If the 2025 F1 title battle ends up being a close competition as many are expecting and Charles Leclerc emerges as the lead driver within the team, are we looking at a scenario where the young driver would need his illustrious teammate to play the second fiddle? If Ferrari has to run an efficient title challenge, then yes, that is the case.

But would Hamilton be willing to play second fiddle to Leclerc? Would he be willing to step back and concede ground to his teammate? If he does, he plays the team game well and bides his time for when he's used to the car. What if he doesn't? Is Ferrari looking at possible driver management troubles by having the seven-time champion on board?

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#3 The volatile Lewis Hamilton fanbase

A lesser-known challenge that Ferrari would be wary of when it signed Lewis Hamilton was the fanbase that he commands. When things go well, the team prospers and is lifted to heights that no other team is in the sport. At the same time, when things go wrong, that fanbase can truly drag things down in a manner that Mercedes witnessed last season.

Last season, Toto Wolff was forced to acknowledge that the team had received emails from fans with allegations unacceptable on so many levels. More than anything else, it turns into a PR disaster for a team because far too much time is spent addressing why the seven-time world champion is unable to compete against his younger teammate.

If Hamilton struggles against Charles Leclerc and is forced to be his teammate's supporting act, rest assured the fanbase will not like it. While many would say that it is the kind of headache that's part of the game and passionate fans are something that one takes in stride, this is a distraction that a team fighting for its first title in 18 years would do well to avoid.

How Ferrari and Fred Vasseur handle something like this will be interesting, especially since this is one distraction that would take away from the real goal of fighting for the title.