Eddie Irvine: Ferrari's lack of "cross-pollination" is hurting Lewis Hamilton in F1

Former Ferrari Formula 1 driver Eddie Irvine has delivered his crushing verdict on Lewis Hamilton's move to the Maranello outfit. 

The seven-time champion signed for Ferrari after a 12-year stint with Mercedes, where he secured six of his seven championship titles, to fulfil a lifelong dream of driving for the historic squad and with his sights set on an eighth drivers' championship.

But since joining Ferrari in January, it has not been as plain sailing as the British driver would have hoped, with even team chief Fred Vasseur recently admitting that both he and Hamilton may have underestimated the adjustment. Irvine argued that the 40-year-old driver made the move too late in his career.

“Problem with Lewis, he came a bit too old. But he won seven World Championships, so there’s always a price," Irvine told Sky Sports F1. 

“It’s very difficult, Ferrari, because they’re on their own in Italy. The British teams are all surrounded by other teams, and there’s cross-pollination. It’s so much different, more difficult to be on your own down in Maranello. That’s it. It’s always more difficult for Ferrari.

“They have the image, they have the history, they have everything except they don’t have that cross-pollination, and that’s really tough.

“Back in my day, you had Michael [Schumacher] come, he was seen as by far the fastest driver. Because of that, Rory Byrne came, Ross [Brawn] came, and that whole team was built around the fact that Michael was another world.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Mark Thompson - Getty Images

“A bit like Verstappen is now, where if Verstappen went somewhere, he could take a lot of people. Without the whole system together, everyone’s at the same level. It’s tough, Formula 1’s tough.

“Michael gave up a lot, like Michael probably gave up two, three, maybe even more world championships to leave Benetton to go [to Ferrari]. Because the first few years, people have no idea how bad it was at Ferrari.

“Michael, he knew there was no point for him. He was so much better than everyone else. He just decided, ‘I’m going to go there. I’m going to see what I can do,’ which was amazing.

“And he got there. But people forget, it took four years. He was always in the vicinity, but it was just, you could see he was driving the wheels off the thing to try and be there. So it was very easy for it not to happen.

“I would love Verstappen to come to Ferrari. I think the two of them together would be sensational. I hope he doesn’t leave it too late like Lewis did.”

Hamilton currently sits sixth in the drivers' championship standings with 117 points, 46 points behind his team-mate Charles Leclerc, who sits in fifth.