F1 | Chandhok on Hamilton's move to Ferrari: "He underestimated the cultural shift."

Lewis Hamilton's debut season with Ferrari proved to be a true sporting nightmare for the Englishman. The seven-time world champion, who joined the Prancing Horse after completing a long and successful tenure with Mercedes, which saw him rewrite Formula 1 history with a series of records, had to contend with difficulties driving the SF-25, which inevitably had a negative impact on his results on the track.

In fact, Hamilton, unlike his teammate Charles Leclerc, was unable to score any podium finishes, with his only notable performances being his pole position and victory in the Sprint Race in Shanghai.

Karun Chandhok, discussing the challenges Hamilton faced in red, said the 911 champion had underestimated such a drastic cultural shift between England and Italy, also referring to an illustrious predecessor: Alain Prost.

“I think he also underestimated the cultural shift,” Chandhok said, discussing the F1 Show podcast. “I remember talking to Alan Prost about this. He moved from a British team, and Prost was someone who always said publicly that he felt more comfortable with British teams; he won all his titles with British teams. He talked about the cultural shift of moving to Ferrari, even though time has passed, saying that the culture is so different, and trying to succeed at Ferrari is different from any other team.”

Chandhok, continuing his analysis, added: “The relationship he built at Mercedes was so strong, obviously over time. I think the problem is that he hasn't fully gotten over the cultural shift yet. It was a huge challenge and a huge disappointment for me; it was the biggest disappointment of the season. We saw Ferrari finish second in the constructors' championship last year. We thought it was fantastic; they'll have Lewis, they'll be there, but instead they were the biggest disappointment this season. Not even a podium for Lewis and a 23-7 qualifying score.”