What Lewis Hamilton did in Saudi GP paddock said it all - is his Ferrari title dream dead?

All could do was shake his head as he studied the timing screens, the look of disbelief at the size of the gap to those ahead said it all. Seventh on the grid after qualifying for the is not what the seven-time champion came to for after leaving .

He was almost a full second slower around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit than pole-sitter – and the following day was no better. While team-mate secured Ferrari's first podium of 2025 by continuing his steady improvement, Hamilton remained rooted to seventh place and looked a defeated man in post-race interviews.

"It's going to be painful," he said, referring to the rest of a first season with Ferrari which began with so much hype and expectation. after just five rounds of a 24-event season? It certainly sounded like it.

Hamilton scored 31 points across those five Grands Prix and one sprint race. Championship leader has 99 already. Sure, he has had the not insignificant challenge of adapting to new surroundings, not least driving Ferrari machinery after 12 years behind the wheel of a Mercedes.

But , who went the other way from Ferrari to a Mercedes-powered , has already found his feet. So has young , who performed on 48 hours' notice for Ferrari in Jeddah last year and has impressed in his debut season so far with .

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Is it an oversimplification to wonder whether it's a case of an old dog struggling to learn new tricks? Hamilton has had a remarkable career but we are seeing evidence suggesting he may no longer be at the peak of his powers.

The same happened to , who didn't win a single race in his three-year comeback with Mercedes. The German was in his 40s at the time, as is F1's only other seven-time champion now. But it is clear that Hamilton is not the only problem.

Leclerc may be getting far better results out of the same car but for the year. "I am really not happy," he said in Jeddah, referring to his car's inability to match the , and also what Verstappen is doing in his .

The formbook suggests Leclerc is maximising the car while Hamilton admits he still has a way to go on that front. That was to be expected given Leclerc has been Ferrari’s cornerstone driver for years and the performance gap between them will surely narrow in the coming months.

And Ferrari clearly still have a way to go operationally, evidenced by . His Shanghai sprint win showed Hamilton can still deliver when his car is set up just how he likes and the conditions are in his favour.

But some of the Brit's more impressive performances over the years came when things went against him and he still delivered. That's what he'll have to do if he is to finally wear that elusive eighth drivers' crown before he retires.

McLaren's advantage this year already looks almost insurmountable for Ferrari and Hamilton who are a long way back. He turns 41 next January and 2026, with new car regulations potentially upsetting the balance of power on the grid, already looks likely to be the make-or-break season for Hamilton's hopes.

But even if there is to be no happy ending, it will not affect his remarkable legacy in any way. And at least that young boy from Stevenage finally got to live out his dream of racing in red.