A former Ferrari driver has no doubt: Lewis Hamilton has already “lost enthusiasm”. According to a former F1 driver, Lewis Hamilton may have already lost enthusiasm.

There is no doubt he had envisioned it differently. After all the preseason excitement, Lewis Hamilton had expected a much stronger debut in Australia, only to face the harsh reality of a Ferrari with several issues to resolve at the start of the F1 season.

Following a promising Friday, Ferrari was forced to raise the car’s ride height to prevent excessive floor wear and avoid the risk of disqualification. This decision meant both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had to continue the weekend with a car that no longer resembled the one that had initially given them confidence in free practice.

The outcome was a fourth-row start in qualifying, ultimately turning into just five points at the end of the race. Certainly not what Ferrari fans had hoped for at the beginning of what had often been described as a championship-contending season.

Never before had Ferrari exuded so much confidence and optimism in the weeks leading up to the opening race. However, that same certainty that had once excited the Tifosi is now being questioned.

A former driver has no doubts about Lewis Hamilton

What happened in Australia could impact the mindset of Ferrari’s drivers, at least according to a former Scuderia driver. “From Saturday onwards, things didn’t go well. McLaren and Max Verstappen looked dominant, and we started from a far-from-ideal position,” said René Arnoux on Rai Radio 1. “The first race of the year is always filled with emotions because it gives you a sense of where you stand compared to the competition.”

“We’re not competitive in either dry or wet conditions. In fact, from the outside, it seemed like Hamilton and Leclerc were dealing with more water on track than their rivals. They struggled to accelerate and were at risk of losing control of the car,” the Frenchman added. “I understand Lewis’ frustration. Changing teams is never easy, especially with the limited number of testing days. In my opinion, after the race, he lost some enthusiasm, but we’ll need to wait a few weeks to truly assess the car’s potential.”

“Right now, there seem to be three or four competitive teams. Ferrari cannot stay at this level, and I’m confident they’ll catch up. The problem is, I don’t know when that will happen,” concluded René Arnoux, who joined Ferrari in 1983, when he secured three victories, at the Canadian, German, and Dutch Grands Prix and was in contention for the world title until the final race of the 1983 Formula 1 season.