Lewis Hamilton’s issues at Ferrari have sparked a comparison from one of Sebastian Vettel’s engineers, who suffered from the same issue during his stint at the Scuderia.

Ferrari identified that Hamilton was struggling the most with the rear stability of his SF-25 car, particularly in race trim, before finally addressing it ahead of the Austrian GP nearly four months into the season.

But that didn’t solve all of the issues that Hamilton has had with the car. During the latter part of his stint in Brackley, it was noted that Hamilton developed a habit with his Mercedes car on race weekends, which saw him experiment with set-ups that wasted valuable practice time on race weekends.

Hamilton has carried the habit over to Ferrari, with the gap in performance to his teammate Charles Leclerc being the main reason for the experimentation.

This issue has been highlighted by a Ferrari insider who saw a similar way of working from Leclerc’s former teammate and four-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel.

Sebastian Vettel suffered at Ferrari after trying to ‘copy’ Charles Leclerc’s set-ups

Leclerc has been vocal with Ferrari regarding the balance on the front of his SF-25, with journalist Roberto Chinchero previously noting that he is asking for ‘more front wing’ every time he enters the pit lane during practice sessions.

Speaking to Sky Sports IT on Race Anatomy, former Ferrari engineer Francesco Cigarini shared insight into how Leclerc’s setups have affected his teammates in the past, and how it has impacted Hamilton’s driving since joining the Scuderia at the start of 2025.

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“It is known that Leclerc, even when Vettel was there, prefers a very pointed car,” Cigarini said. “This means that he leaves the rear very free, having to control it with sensitivity.

“When Vettel wanted to copy those set-ups to achieve the same performance, he turned around and looked like a fool. I think the same thing is happening to Hamilton. “

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they told me that Hamilton is talking, having a hot phone conversation with Vettel, looking for a conversation to get out of it.”

Ferrari are in danger of losing out commercially if Lewis Hamilton’s results persist

It’s no secret that Ferrari benefited from the announcement of Lewis Hamilton’s addition to the team prior to the 2024 season. That’s not including the surge in market capitalisation that the wider Ferrari company immediately experienced, either.

It is expected that Hamilton netted Ferrari around £41.8m in sponsorship deals, due to the brand of the seven-time world champion transcending F1 alone. Additionally, the team was also forecast to bring in a similar figure through merchandising and licensing deals throughout the 2025 season.

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However, Ferrari’s been warned that Hamilton’s negative results during the current season could have a domino effect on ‘commercial returns’ for the team. If the 40-year-old was able to compete amongst the front-runners of the F1 grid week in week out, then the issue is unlikely to have cropped up.

Ferrari are on course for a second consecutive second-place finish in the constructors’ championship, a position which earned the Prancing Horse £99m in prize money after the conclusion of 2024.