Rubens Barrichello issues Lewis Hamilton vote of confidence amid 2025 shock
Rubens Barrichello has praised Lewis Hamilton for his Ferrari performances, despite his struggles.
Rubens Barrichello has defended Ferrari driver and seven-time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton by calling him a “super driver.”
Further, Barrichello believes that Hamilton is capable of winning again — and could even go so far as to take an eighth title in F1 2026.
Rubens Barrichello issues Lewis Hamilton defense
In the wake of winning the 2025 NASCAR Brazil stock car championship in his rookie season, Barrichello has taken the time to praise Hamilton despite the seven-time World Champion’s struggles.
Hamilton’s much-hyped move to Scuderia Ferrari has thus far been something of a struggle, with the once-dominant driver falling behind team-mate Charles Leclerc and struggling to get to grips with the SF-25.
Frustrated by his performance, Hamilton was left slamming himself as “useless” and suggesting Ferrari swap drivers after he was knocked out in Q2 at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton vs Charles Leclerc: Ferrari head-to-head scores for F1 2025
? F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates
? F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates
Despite that frustration, though, Hamilton is still skilled, Barrichello argues.
The Brazilian driver would know; he spent several years racing alongside the likes of the legendary Michael Schumacher at Ferrari, which meant he was often playing second fiddle to the German.
Barrichello has had plenty of chances to see greatness in action, and in a conversation with the Mirror, he shared that he still sees that greatness in Lewis Hamilton.
“He is a super driver that deserves everything that he has conquered in the past,” Barrichello asserted.
“It is not now that he has forgotten how to drive.”
Further, he claimed that he is “absolutely sure” Hamilton will be winning races in F1 2026, so long as Ferrari is able to provide the former champion with a capable car.
Hamilton has largely struggled in F1 since the 2022 reintroduction of ground effect, which he branded as “the worst” regulatory set in which he has competed.
“With less ground effects, let’s hope things shift,” he told media including PlanetF1.com after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in reference to the incoming 2026 regulations.
The F1 2026 season will be Hamilton’s greatest hope of a turnaround. The new regulatory set will see an overhaul in everything from chassis to engine and it promises to shake up the current running order.
Further, the former champion has been providing his team with “documents” that are packed with his impressions of the SF-25 and suggestions for developmental changes in the future.
“It was just ideas of like, ‘Hey, if we did this…’, ‘have we tried this?’, ‘if we did this, perhaps we can ease up certain areas, or we can be better,'” Hamilton told media including PlanetF1.com ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
“As I said before, it’s just trying to understand the environment that you’re in.
“You have to adapt, and I think the people you work with ultimately will learn to adapt, to cater to you — which I think this year, as I said, the response has been amazing to the steps that we’ve taken in all areas, and the passion and the desire to continue to do better is what’s the most amazing thing, I think, in this team.
“Everyone just wants to do better and know and find ways of being better.
“That’s why I know this team has absolutely every ingredient needed to succeed, and I truly believe in that. That’s why I signed here.”
Barrichello is right to point out that Hamilton’s biggest hopes for victory will likely come in 2026; most teams have brought an end to major developmental upgrades in 2025, turning their attention to the F1 2026 regulations.
As such, we’ll likely see Hamilton remain somewhere around his current sixth-place position in the WDC.
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