Steiner pinpoints the drawback of signing Lewis Hamilton that Ferrari is starting to realize

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner feels Ferrari is starting to realize that having Lewis Hamilton means attention on everything the team does. The Italian team is the most successful team in the sport, and this season it has joined forces with the most successful driver ever in the sport's history.

As a result, every decision and every call that is being made is under the microscope. This has been evident in the first two races as well for Ferrari. If things go well, there is a sense of euphoria, but when they are underwhelming, there seems to be a lot of backlash as well.

This was evident in the race weekend in China, where Lewis Hamilton clinched his first pole position and win for Ferrari in the sprint. Then we moved to the Grand Prix segment of the weekend, and suddenly the car was nowhere close to where it was during the sprint.

A Lewis Hamilton pole position in a sprint shootout was followed by a P5 starting position in the race. A win in the sprint was followed by a disqualification. This has led to a lot of backlash for Ferrari, as many have questioned how poorly the season has begun for the team.

Guenther Steiner feels that the Italian team is now realizing one of the major drawbacks of having Lewis Hamilton in your team, as it means that you have a lot of attention on everything that the team does. Talking about this on the Red Flag Podcast, Steiner said,

"I don't think there's a desperation set in, I think they just want to do a job and got a few things [wrong]. The pressure is high. You see, as soon as he does something, how he catches the attention of everyone, right? It's something brutal. It's Lewis Hamilton. But I would think Ferrari knew when they took him what would happen, you attract attention."

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Steiner shares example of Lewis Hamilton's former team

Steiner shared the example of Lewis Hamilton's former team, Mercedes, as the team's performances have been under the radar this season. In both races, George Russell has been on the podium, and the team is currently second in the championship standings. Pointing out how the former team, despite its better performances, is under the radar, Steiner said,

"Look at, for example, Mercedes now. I think Mercedes is doing a good job this year, obviously they are not beating McLaren, but nobody knows about it. It's very unseen. You see more from Ferrari and Lewis' performance, than the better performance of Mercedes. Because, it's not Hamilton. Lewis attracts [attention], he's a star. He is, so people are attracted to him."

While Mercedes has surged this season, Ferrari has struggled to deliver the results that the car is capable of.