Ferrari should have signed Antonelli - Montezemolo

It’s a shame Ferrari did not snap up teenage Italian talent Kimi Antonelli.

That’s the view of former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, on a rare visit to a Formula 1 paddock this weekend in Bahrain.

Now 77, the Italian has been a regular critic of the Maranello based team since stepping down as president.

Montezemolo said in Bahrain: "I see the Ferrari guys all very motivated, and I’m happy to see them like this. (Charles) Leclerc is third and therefore he can compete.

"This is a team that sometimes lacks leadership, and I say this in general, but sooner or later we hope to see not only a podium but a car capable of staying ahead. But to do this, time and organisation are needed," he told Sky Italia.

"First of all I’m happy to come back to breathe this air after ten years, and then it’s an important third place for Ferrari. This is a difficult race in which we’ve always had problems with the rear tyres."

More generally, Montezemolo says Sunday under the lights should be more entertaining than Suzuka was.

"(Lando) Norris will have to fight, it will be a great grand prix. I’m happy to have seen people with whom I shared weekends and sometimes clashes - Toto (Wolff), Helmut Marko, and they were all very nice to me.

"I didn’t have the chance to speak to Lewis."

As for Antonelli, he is the sole Italian on the grid at present and Montezemolo laments that Mercedes - and not Ferrari - signed him.

"Antonelli is a first-rate driver, first of all because he’s in his first year of F1 and he doesn’t make mistakes, but he’s fast and I see him growing. And then he’s from Bologna, like myself," said the Italian.

"I’m just sorry to see him in Mercedes. Would I have taken him? At 18 maybe not, but I would have put him at Sauber to do two years there. Toto was good at finding him and raising him, like McLaren did with Lewis."

Binotto wonders if Hamilton is still ’fast’

The jury is out as to whether Lewis Hamilton still has what it takes in Formula 1.

That’s the view of Mattia Binotto, who some months ago admitted that if he was still in charge at Ferrari, he would not have ousted Carlos Sainz in favour of the seven time world champion.

Hamilton, 40, left Mercedes at the end of last year having struggled for form ever since losing the 2021 world championship to Max Verstappen on the very last lap of the calendar.

"He has brought great enthusiasm, passion, and a lot of experience to Ferrari," Binotto, now in charge at Audi-owned Sauber, told Corriere della Sera newspaper.

"But that alone may not be enough."

The Shanghai sprint aside, Hamilton has been behind Charles Leclerc so far in 2025, and after qualifying in Bahrain, the Briton actually apologised to his team on the radio.

"I’m not doing the job," Hamilton, P9, admitted afterwards. "The car is a lot better than what I’m delivering with it."

Binotto explained: "We don’t yet know how fast Lewis still is, and this experience will help him understand, since a strong driver adapts quickly.

"In these first races of 2025 we will see what the balance of power with Charles will be and what Charles’s impact will be on him (Hamilton). These are question marks that I won’t get into."