Former Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene has cast doubt on Lewis Hamilton’s early Ferrari tenure, suggesting the seven-time world champion’s increasingly hands-on involvement behind the scenes may be a worrying sign for his long-term relationship with the Maranello outfit.
Hamilton, who joined Ferrari ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 season, endured one of the most challenging seasons of his career. For the first time, he failed to score a podium finish and ended the season 86 points behind teammate Charles Leclerc, struggling to adapt to Ferrari’s car philosophy.
Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari Documents
In an effort to turn his fortunes around, Lewis Hamilton revealed mid-season that he had submitted a series of detailed “documents” to Ferrari’s senior management and technical departments. These dossiers reportedly covered car development direction, suspension concepts, engine priorities for the future, internal communication, and race weekend execution.
Speaking to Sky Sports Italy, Arrivabene- who led Ferrari from 2014 to 2019 — questioned the effectiveness of such an approach, drawing an unflattering comparison with Sebastian Vettel, who employed similar methods during his own Ferrari stint.
“Sebastian Vettel also sent such dossiers. He wrote, spoke and shared everything,” Arrivabene said. “I don’t want to say anything bad about Sebastian, but when a driver starts playing engineer, that’s it. Then it’s really over.”
Arrivabene argued that while simulator work and general feedback are valuable, the responsibility for technical direction must remain firmly with the engineering staff.
“The devil is in the details. When the car is on track, the driver must provide relevant feedback so engineers can make targeted improvements- especially when there is potential.”
Despite the criticism, Ferrari insiders have pushed back against suggestions of internal strain. Head of track engineering Matteo Togninalli recently insisted that Hamilton’s relationship with the team is far more constructive than external perception suggests, describing ongoing collaboration as positive and productive.
Newey and Honda Begin Early Aston Martin AMR26 Battle
Elsewhere in the paddock, Adrian Newey’s influence at Aston Martin is already being strongly felt as preparations intensify for the sweeping 2026 regulation changes.
Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe confirmed that Newey has engaged in frequent and “quite intense” technical exchanges with Honda’s power unit engineers, as the two sides begin work on Aston Martin’s first Honda-powered car, the AMR26.
“We often have intense exchanges of views,” Watanabe revealed. “But we also laughed a lot in our first meeting together.”
The partnership reunites Newey and Honda after their highly successful collaboration at Red Bull, and expectations are growing that Aston Martin could emerge as a serious contender under the new regulations.
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A Season of Contrasts
While Lewis Hamilton faces questions over his influence and adaptation at Ferrari, Aston Martin’s long-term project under Newey and Honda appears to be gathering momentum.
