Spielberg, Austria – For a man with more victories and podiums than any other driver in Formula One history, Lewis Hamilton is facing a sobering new reality. As he prepares for this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, the seven-time world champion is not battling for a title, but against an unwelcome entry into his own record books. Failure to finish in the top three at the Red Bull Ring will mark 13 consecutive grands prix without a podium, the longest drought of his superlative-laden career.
The highly anticipated move to Ferrari, a switch heralded as a fairy-tale union of the sport’s most successful driver and its most iconic team, has so far failed to ignite. Ten races into the 2025 season, Hamilton has cut a figure of mounting frustration. He sits sixth in the driver’s standings, a considerable 25 points behind his teammate Charles Leclerc, who has managed to haul the recalcitrant SF-25 onto the podium on three separate occasions.
The recent Canadian Grand Prix, a circuit Hamilton has treated as a personal fiefdom over the years, was a case in point. A promising qualifying performance was undone in the race, leaving him a distant sixth and openly stating the team was “in need of an upgrade”. That upgrade, a revised floor, has arrived in Austria, but Hamilton has been cautious, almost downbeat, about its potential impact.
“I am happy that we have an upgrade,” he told reporters in Spielberg. “But we don’t really know the actual effect it is going to have… don’t expect much change.”
This public tempering of expectation speaks volumes about the disconnect between driver and machine. Hamilton has been candid about his struggle to adapt to a car that is fundamentally at odds with the Mercedes he drove for more than a decade. F2 rookie Isack Hadjar recently theorised that the “habits” ingrained during his long stint at Mercedes have made the adaptation to the Ferrari “brutal”.
Behind the scenes, the picture is one of a driver working relentlessly to remould the team’s approach. He has spoken of being “grateful” for the current struggles, viewing them as a necessary process of “foundation building” ahead of the major regulation changes in 2026. “I’m focused more on changes in the background… I am working hard with Fred [Vasseur, team principal] and the team to make changes and improvements so that we can have long-term success,” Hamilton revealed.
Yet, this long-term vision is clashing with the short-term reality. Persistent issues, such as the need for excessive “lift-and-coast” to manage components, have blunted his attacking style. His former team boss at Mercedes, Toto Wolff, has urged against writing him off, noting a pattern of Hamilton finding his “mojo” in the second half of the season.
“Everybody needs a period of adaptation: different car, different DNA… a new engineering team,” Wolff said recently. “And that takes time.”
Time, however, is a commodity that is measured differently at Maranello. While the team publicly supports its star driver, the pressure is undeniable. With Ferrari also trailing significantly in the constructors’ championship, the focus is increasingly shifting towards a radical overhaul for 2026.
For now, Hamilton must navigate the present. As he takes to the track in the Styrian hills, he will be acutely aware of the statistical milestone that looms. The man who rewrote Formula One’s history books is now hoping to avoid becoming a footnote in his own story of struggle. The Austrian Grand Prix will not define his legacy, but it may well define the scale of the challenge he faces in his final chapter.
Lewis you did amazing with the car you had. I know it’s not easy not to beat yourself up about these milestones, but true fans don’t care, we support you all the way through this transition with Ferrari. I follow all the diffent aspects of your public life, so nice to see someone follow their heart, be themselves and show the world that you are much more than a racing car driver xxx