Lewis Hamilton’s former rival has branded Ferrari as ‘chaotic’, but insists the Formula One star’s first season with the Italian team has not been as bad as it seems. Having joined the Scuderia at the start of this year, Hamilton’s dream of racing in Ferrari colours has largely not gone as planned in his maiden season with the Maranello outfit.

In his gruelling first 10 months at Ferrari, the 40-year-old has looked increasingly dejected. Hamilton has uncharacteristically labelled himself as “useless”, clashed with his race engineer and failed to secure a single podium finish, setting the unwanted record of going the longest out of any Ferrari driver in history not to do so. Last weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix perfectly encapsulated his turbulent year, where, despite having qualified in third place, an incident with Max Verstappen at Turn 4, where the Brit took to the grass, earned him a 10-second time penalty and therefore an eighth-place finish.

Hamilton now sits in sixth in the drivers’ standings, 64 points behind team-mate Charles Leclerc. But former F1 driver Esteban Gutierrez believes the racing legend’s debut season with the team hasn’t been bad, considering the circumstances at Ferrari.

Gutierrez raced against Hamilton for Sauber and Haas, while being familiar with Ferrari due to his role as a test and reserve driver for them in 2015. He moved on to Mercedes as a development driver in 2018 and is now a brand and business ambassador for the Silver Arrows, meaning he knows the seven-time world champion very well.

The Mexican took the positives from Mexico and expressed his confidence that next year will be very different for Hamilton. “It seems he has felt more comfortable with the car this weekend, according to his comments. He may not be so happy now, but I definitely think it has been a process,” Gutierrez said on the F1 Nation podcast.

“I was at Ferrari and I understand the differences between an English team and an Italian team. I’ll be honest: at Ferrari, there is a lot of passion, but it’s well-organised chaos. No offence to them, I love Ferrari, in fact, we all love it. I think every driver’s dream is to be a Ferrari driver deep down in our hearts. Winning with Ferrari is a much bigger challenge than winning with any other team.

“That’s why all the champions who haven’t been champions with Ferrari and are trying to get to Ferrari to become champions have a hard time. It’s not easy, so in my opinion, from that perspective, Lewis’ performance this year hasn’t been as bad as it seems. I hope he can use this year as experience and take another step forward next year.”

His comments come ahead of the rule and engine changes, which may suit Hamilton better, as it will be a reset for all drivers in 2026. And despite his positive assessment, Gutierrez’s relationship with Hamilton was strained once upon a time.

The former Haas driver in 2016 slammed Hamilton, then still at Mercedes, for making a lewd gesture while passing him at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Hamilton had been left furious with Gutierrez, who ignored blue flags and held him up as he was locked in a tight battle for the lead.

“He must be aware that people are looking up to him and if he wants to give a good example this is not the way to do it,” an unhappy Gutierrez told Sky Sports News HQ after arriving in Hockenheim for the German GP.

“It’s also not a good thing to criticise an opponent who is trying to do his best and trying to do the safest thing. He must be aware he has a car which is much more superior to my car. But for him being a world champion it is even more important in his position to give the right example – not only to kids but to the world.”