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In the latest edition of the 2 Soft Compounds podcast (embedded below), Rick Houghton and Paul Velasco discussed the deepening Ferrari crisis as Lewis Hamilton’s struggles continue and Charles Leclerc’s role in it all raises questions.
Since the summer break, Ferrari have scored only 12 points out of a possible 50, well below their season average of 36. All those points came courtesy of Leclerc’s P4 in Hungary. Hamilton, meanwhile, has gone pointless in the past two races, compounding what is now Ferrari’s most difficult spell of 2025.
Rick was blunt about last Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix: “Ferrari had a nightmare. Hamilton crashed at Turn 3, which is rare for him, but the drizzle on the paint caught him out. That was game over. On top of that, he picked up a five-place grid penalty for Monza after speeding under yellows entering the pits earlier in the weekend. A disastrous return from the break after saying he’d dig in for the second half.”
The numbers are stark. Hamilton has gone 15 Grands Prix without a podium in Red, the longest barren run for a Ferrari driver in history. His only highlight remains a sprint podium in China earlier this year, which is proving to be an anomaly.
Paul chipped in: “This looks like the Vettel or Ricciardo decline. That crash was not the Lewis we know. He looks burned out. At some point, drivers lose it. After 10 to 12 years at the top, they don’t have the hunger anymore. Verstappen is an exception; he lives and breathes racing. But Lewis peaked two years ago. He was already getting beaten by Russell. Leclercis at that level too, so no surprise he’s often ahead now.”
Is Leclerc too comfortable? What lessons are we learning?
LECLERC Charles (mco), Scuderia Ferrari SF-25, portrait during the 2025 Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix, 15th round of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship from August 29 to 31, 2025 on the Zandvoort Circuit, in Zandvoort, Netherlands – Photo Antonin Vincent / DPPI
Leclerc’s race at Zandvoort was hardly better. Ferrari made what Rick called a “bizarre strategy call” by fitting soft tyres without reason, before the Monegasque was rammed by Kimi Antonelli. He was left to vent on the radio. Was this another strategy blunder that cost points?
Paul compared him to another Ferrari favourite of the past: “Leclerc’s becoming like Jean Alesi; a great talent but too complacent, too happy just to be at Ferrari. Charles’ stock is dropping. I’ve never rated him at Verstappen’s level. Yes, he’s quick, but he’s not dragging the team forward. He’s a passenger too. And Ferrari is Ferrari. You know what you’re signing up for.”
Rick suggested: “Maybe the lesson is if you’re a former Formula 1 world champion, don’t go to Ferrari.”
Not quite, according to Paul, noting the one exception who provided the template of Formula 1 dominance: “Schumacher tore up the Ferrari playbook, rebuilt the team around him with a multinational unit, and made it his. Alonso, Kimi, Seb, Charles, Lewis – none of them did that.”
“Ferrari tends to succeed when they adapt to the driver, not the other way around. The only current driver who could force them to do that is Verstappen,” reckoned the GRANDPRIX247 Editor, citing |Schumacher, and before him, Niki Lauda.
Ferrari arrive at Monza for their home race under heavy pressure. The Scuderia’s form has dipped, Hamilton faces a grid penalty, and Leclerc’s momentum has stalled. With McLaren, Mercedes and Verstappen consistently delivering, the tifosi may have little to cheer this weekend.
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