Carlo Vanzini spoke bluntly about Ferrari’s situation: “We weren’t the ones who promised a world title — they did.”
Lewis Hamilton’s crisis at Ferrari now seems undeniable. After finishing sixth in Spain — overtaken even by Nico Hülkenberg — the British driver is clearly struggling to adapt to his new team.
Italian F1 commentator Carlo Vanzini addressed the matter head-on, reflecting on the expectations set before the season began.
Carlo Vanzini’s Words
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Vanzini opened with: “Then there’s the topic… Hamilton. Hamilton. Hamilton. What’s happening with Hamilton?”
“I said it in previous videos, and I stand by it: these videos serve as proof that I don’t just change my opinion over time. I always said that Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari would be a major step forward in terms of mentality, energy, and work ethic. But I also warned about a possible boomerang effect — hype without results can backfire badly.”
Vanzini: “Were we hyping Ferrari? Come on — it was them!”
“I wasn’t criticizing for the sake of it. I made my comments assuming Ferrari would be fighting for the championship — for both titles. And it wasn’t the media hyping them, as Sir Lewis claims — it was the team itself. Go on Google and look up what the drivers and team principal were saying on February 20th. So enough with this blame game — the hype came from within the team, not from us ‘asshole journalists’.”
“Based on those expectations, I envisioned a season where Leclerc would be battling for wins early on, and Hamilton would be close behind, fighting for podiums. In a way, that’s what’s happening — but the scale is all wrong. Now Leclerc is fighting for fourth or fifth, and Hamilton is even further back. When you race in a place like Barcelona, where Lewis has six poles and six wins, but he starts P5 and finishes P6 — while your teammate starts P7 and finishes P3 — clearly something’s off.”
“Sure, you have to give Hamilton some slack: he doesn’t fully know the car yet. He’s not managing it optimally. But we’ve reached a point where it’s fair to start asking questions. What was supposed to be a triumphant season — with Hamilton symbolizing Ferrari’s rebirth — is looking like anything but. And knowing Hamilton like I do, if he doesn’t have something to say, he just won’t say anything. But seeing him this distant, this uninvolved — it’s unprecedented.”
“It’s early, but this is starting to look a lot like the Vettel saga. Leclerc, who replaced Raikkonen (Ferrari’s last world champion) and challenged a four-time world champ, now looks set to do the same against a seven-time world champion.”
“Maybe I’m wrong — and I hope I’m wrong. Like I said before: if Ferrari had built a car consistently capable of 1-2 finishes, Hamilton would’ve been a contender right away. But if the car’s only capable of finishing P2–P4, or P2–P5 depending on the track, he was always going to struggle.”
“And now we’re seeing that unfortunately, the car isn’t even good enough for P2 or P3. So of course, Hamilton is struggling even more” , Vanzini concluded.
Photo: Scuderia Ferrari HP
