Lewis Hamilton still at peak despite Ferrari woes – Alain Prost

Alain Prost has leapt to Lewis Hamilton’s defence, insisting the Ferrari newcomer is every bit as sharp as ever despite a rocky start to 2025.

Hamilton, 40, has struggled to adapt to life in red and even labelled himself “useless” before the summer break. But at Monza he showed further signs of a rebound, climbing from tenth on the grid to sixth at the flag after serving a Zandvoort-origin grid penalty.

“I’m very happy with the progress we’re making,” the seven-time champion said. “I’m slowly understanding this car more and more. I don’t know if I’ll ever be 100 percent comfortable in it, but I hope next year’s car will allow me to contribute more.”

Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur agreed that the weekend showed real progress. “He bounced back,” Vasseur told Sky Italia. “It was a very good race, and I’m very happy for him, because he struggled in July and now he’s back on pace. He had a good weekend, a good mood, a good approach, and I think that will help.”

Prost, writing in L’Equipe, argued that the perception is harsher simply because it is Ferrari.

“When you win with Ferrari, it’s better than anywhere else; but when you don’t, it’s worse than at any other team,” the Frenchman said. “Everyone knows it, everyone writes about it, but in real life, it’s different.

"But I absolutely do not believe that Lewis Hamilton’s talent has waned or, worse, gone astray.” Vasseur also pointed out that the car itself was not far from the front at home at Monza.

“Max was flying, but we weren’t that far behind McLaren,” he noted. Charles Leclerc, though, was left deflated in fourth. Missing the Monza podium in front of the Tifosi, he explained: “I tried to follow cars with more power, and when you do that the temperatures skyrocket. I had to save the rear tyres for ten laps and that cost us. I would have liked to do more for the fans on such a special weekend.”

Asked about the ongoing pace gap to McLaren and Red Bull, Leclerc was blunt. “It hurts,” he admitted. “We’ve been waiting for our moment for a while. We hope our chance to fight consistently for the victory will come soon, but at the moment it’s not possible - we don’t have the car.”