As was the case several months ago at the start of his debut Formula 1 campaign with Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton will arrive at the first race after the summer break in unfamiliar territory.

The seven-time world champion’s Ferrari bow in Australia back in March saw him wear red and work alongside his new colleagues in a grand prix environment for the first time.

While the 40-year-old has gradually adjusted to the partnership between the sport’s most famous driver and team, many elements of his blockbuster switch from Mercedes have yet to play out as he would have hoped.

Hamilton will go into this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort without having scored a grand prix podium in his first 14 outings for Ferrari.

The longest streak without a podium to start a season he had previously experienced was nine, which happened when he was at McLaren in 2009 and at Mercedes last year. In each of his 16 other F1 campaigns, he had made it onto the podium by the third round of the season.

While Hamilton did claim a Sprint pole and victory at the second round of the season in China, joyous moments have largely been lacking since that Saturday in Shanghai, and the situation appeared to be spiralling at the final couple of rounds before the summer break.

Disappointing qualifying performances in Belgium and then Hungary led to Hamilton declaring himself “useless” and flippantly suggesting that Ferrari should replace him.

Given that hasn’t happened, Sky Sports assesses what Hamilton can still salvage from the final 10 rounds of the season.

Get on the podium!

Hamilton’s most obvious target for the remainder of the year must be to end the streak he has built of races without finishing on the podium.

It’s not as though he has been miles away from achieving the feat. He has three fourth-placed finishes this season.

It shouldn’t require a miracle for him to pull it off, while it’s also worth noting Ferrari were particularly strong around this time last year.

Leclerc won in Monza and Austin before Hamilton’s predecessor, Carlos Sainz, was victorious in Mexico City, and it could have quite feasibly been four wins in a span of five races for Ferrari as the Monegasque narrowly missed out in Azerbaijan.

It remains to be seen whether Ferrari can reproduce such a surge with the limitations of their SF-25, which appears to have fundamental issues that are preventing them from running the car as low to the ground as they would like to.

Despite those issues, Leclerc has made it onto the podium five times, so there is clearly enough performance in the car to do that, even if it’s not enough to beat the McLarens.

The key to Hamilton getting back on the podium is improving his performance on a Saturday. Leclerc has started in the top three on five occasions, while Hamilton has achieved his best grand prix qualifying position of fourth on just once.

Rediscover some confidence

Scoring a podium, or better yet a win, would undoubtedly do wonders for Hamilton’s confidence, which appeared to have reached an all-time low in Hungary.

His post-qualifying comments in Budapest revealed that extreme self-doubt is seeping into his psyche, which for an F1 driver can be a downward spiral.

However, the mental fortitude the 105-time race winner cannot be underestimated, and he will no doubt return revitalised after the summer break.

The evidence we’ve seen so far in 2025 suggests it’s highly unlikely that it’s all going to be smooth sailing for Hamilton the rest of the way, but mixing some highs in with the lows will be imperative to ensuring he carries some belief into 2026, or even wants to carry on.

Whatever happens, most F1 fans would love to see Hamilton smiling rather than being left to berate himself in post-session interviews.

Continue to build relationships

While adjusting to Ferrari’s car might have been Hamilton’s biggest challenge, acclimatising to a new environment appears to have been a close second.

Hamilton, a worldly figure, knew there would be something of a culture shock as he swapped the UK-based teams at which he had spent the first 18 years of his F1 career for Maranello.

While he’s expressed his delight at the quality of pizza available locally, Hamilton appears to have taken issue with certain working practices at the team.

He has repeatedly spoken publicly about his attempts to change the way certain things are done, with a particularly notable interview ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix in July seeing him reveal details of his efforts.

“Some of it is structural adjustments that we need to make as a team in order to get better in all the areas that we want to improve, and then the other one was really about the current issues that I have with this year’s car,” Hamilton explained.

While his intention is clearly positive – and justified given Ferrari’s soon-to-be 17-year title drought, it’s fair to question whether those working at the team will appreciate his very candid approach.

Amid his own frustrations, Hamilton must ensure he keeps the team on side as he seeks to influence the design of Ferrari’s 2026 challenger, and then hopefully take advantage of it next year.

Push 2026 car in his direction

While everything mentioned up to this point could improve Hamilton’s short-term outlook, the thing that is really keeping him going is the hope that next year can be very different.

The theory, which keeps the prospect of Hamilton winning a record eighth drivers’ title as a reality, is that there is something about the current generation of cars that doesn’t suit his driving style, and the massive changes to engine and chassis for next year could restore him as one of the sport’s very best.

It’s been painfully clear in qualifying – this season and last – that he has been unable to match Leclerc and before that George Russell at Mercedes.

Hamilton might argue he’s been troubled by the characteristics of the cars provided to him by Mercedes and Ferrari rather than the generation as a whole, with it unclear what he would have been able to do in Max Verstappen’s Red Bulls of recent years or the dominant 2025 McLaren.

It doesn’t really matter at this point. For Hamilton to realise his dream of ending Ferrari’s title drought, he’s going to need a car that is both quick and suits his style, because the SF-25 is clearly working better for Leclerc.

On one hand, it’s fair to question whether Hamilton has done enough during his debut season to convince the Ferrari design team to action his requests, but on another, it would make plenty of sense for them to try something different.

While Leclerc’s speed can’t be questioned, he hasn’t got a reputation for being a driver who excels in terms of helping car development. Saying that, it should also be noted that he is paid to drive, not design the car!

Regardless, the most significant thing Hamilton can achieve over the remainder of the season is ensuring the 2026 car is as close as possible to how he wants it to be.

Formula 1 returns after the summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime