10/06/2025 17:15
Lewis Hamilton is starting to realise he is not 'the baby of the
house' at Ferrari and that he still faces significant cultural
differences following his move from Mercedes. That is the verdict
of former Renault and Lotus team principal, and former McLaren
racing director Eric Boullier. Hamilton's switch from a team that
turned him into a seven-time F1 champion, breaking numerous records
in the process, to fulfil a long-held dream by racing for the
Scuderia has been one of the most storied scenarios in the sport's
history. Aside from winning the sprint ahead of the Chinese Grand
Prix in the second race weekend of the year, the 40-year-old
Hamilton has struggled to make a significant impact. In a grand
prix, Hamilton has finished no higher than fourth, the Briton just
missing out on a podium in the Emilia Romagna race at Imola. A
fortnight later, Hamilton departed Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya
on a very low ebb after finishing sixth in the Spanish Grand Prix,
seemingly at a loss to understand why he could not extract any pace
from his car. Boullier, who was with Renault/Lotus for four years
and a further four and a half with McLaren, appreciates Hamilton's
decision to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari was "a very brave
move", but that there were always going to be difficulties. "When
you've won everything, and you're the GOAT, I understand the
challenge, and Ferrari is Ferrari," said Boullier, speaking to
RacingNews365 . "It shows a couple of things. Changing a team is
quite significant for a driver, and the higher you are, being with
Mercedes for so many years and going to Ferrari, another top team,
it's more difficult to adapt than switching, let's say, to a
midfield team." Hamilton compared to 'rubbish' Grosjean Boullier
feels that for Hamilton, "the cultural issue is quite strong",
recalling the problem Fernando Alonso endured when he joined
McLaren in 2007 after winning back-to-back titles with Renault.
Alonso expected preferential treatment from McLaren, but with
debutant Hamilton as his team-mate, he did not get it. It is
likewise for Hamilton alongside Leclerc at Ferrari. "I remember
Fernando at McLaren in 2007, and he had the impression the team was
not pushing for him because the baby of the house was Lewis," said
Boullier. "Lewis is now realising this at Ferrari, that the baby of
the house is not him, it's Charles. "We can see in his
communication with his engineer that he's struggling a bit. It's
going to take time, I guess." Boullier added that Hamilton would
have felt "comfort being English in a British-based team" such as
Mercedes, given its HQ and power unit facilities are in Brackley
and Brixworth, respectively. Boullier even likened Hamilton's
situation to that of former F1 driver Romain Grosjean. Boullier
signed his fellow Frenchman for Lotus in 2012, despite warnings
against. "I've seen it, with Grosjean, bringing him in," said
Boullier. "People said, 'No, we don't want him. He's rubbish!' I
said, 'He's not rubbish. He's podium material'. "It took them one
year to tell me, 'You are right boss, he is not too bad'. "The
culture has a huge impact on your integration into a team, and I
guess this is a challenge for Lewis. "We know he's fast, we know
he's the greatest of all time, but you can see that one [driver]
feels at home - Charles - and the other doesn't feel at home yet."
