“He has to speak”: 2-time F1 champion urges Lewis Hamilton to communicate with Ferrari if he’s consistently beaten by Charles Leclerc in qualifying

Former F1 driver Mika Hakkinen has advised Lewis Hamilton to be vocal about his race performance once he starts racing with his new team, Ferrari, this year. The two-time champion cited his own history, specifically towards the end of his career, as the reason he's suggesting to the the seven-time world champion to speak out about his issues with the car if he were to face them.

Hakkinen explained his thinking about what the British driver could do in an interview with PlanetF1. He talked about the 2001 season, his 11th and final season in the sport, where he stated to being slower and losing his edge. Although he made the decision to retire that season, the former McLaren driver said that Lewis could instead choose to communicate with the team, saying (via PlanetF1):

“If something similar has happened to him, he has to speak.”

However, Hakkinen also expressed his faith in the former Mercedes driver, adding:

“He’s the right person to answer that, but he has committed now for the future. So, I’m sure he will work on it to get things right for this year.”

Hamilton was outqualified by his Mercedes teammate, George Russell, 19 times this past season, and finished lower than Russell in 13 races. For the 2025 season, Lewis will be racing alongside Charles Leclerc, who beat the British driver this past season by 133 points, finishing third in the drivers' standings compared to Lewis' seventh place finish.

Hamilton's journey with Ferrari will begin towards the end of this month when he tests in Ferrari's previous F1 car at the Fiorano Circuit and the Circuit de Catalunya, and will drive the 2025 car in the testing session in Bahrain before the racing season gets underway in Australia.

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Lewis Hamilton's 2024 performance considered a disappointment by David Coulthard

Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Great Britain during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi - Source: Getty

F1 pundit and former driver, David Coulthard, recently gave his response to the question about his biggest disappointment from the past season. He chose the outgoing Mercedes driver, Lewis Hamilton, based on his qualifying performance against teammte George Russell.

In an interview with Viaplay, Coulthard said (via PlanetF1):

“I would still point to Lewis as the biggest disappointment. I know that’s controversial as he’s a seven-time World Champion and a real winning machine, but I’ve never seen this Lewis in Formula 1. He was beaten in qualifying, while the greats can always find speed somewhere to squeeze out a qualifying lap when it really matters.”

Lewis Hamilton secured the spot just below his teammate in the drivers' standing, with a difference of 22 points seperating the two. Over Hamilton's career in Formula 1, which began in 2007, his finish in the 2024 season was his lowest ever in the standings since his sixth place finish in 2022.