Lewis Hamilton’s nightmare before Christmas – and what it means for his one final title challenge in 2026
Hamilton endured, by his own account, the ‘worst season ever’ at Ferrari. But Kieran Jackson explains why a clean slate for every F1 team next year means the 40-year-old could have the possibility of one final title challenge in 2026
Lewis Hamilton, at the conclusion of his 19th and worst season in Formula One, could not have been more unambiguous. “No one’s going to be able to get hold of me this winter,” he said, after the season finale in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
“I won’t have my phone with me and I’m looking forward to it. Just completely unplugged from the matrix. I’ve generally always had it around, but this time it’s going in the fricking bin.”
Whether it be skiing in the Rocky Mountains near his Colorado home or keeping a low profile at his houses in London and New York, Hamilton is clearly planning a period of much-needed inconspicuousness. Even disregarding the lofty, dreamworld ambitions at the start of 2025, it has been a wretched season for the seven-time F1 world champion.
The significant statistics read as follows: 24 races, zero wins, zero podiums. Hamilton was only really in contention for a top-three finish once, at Silverstone, when Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg pipped him. The 40-year-old also finished sixth in the world championship with 156 points – his lowest total since the current points format was introduced in 2010.
And in qualifying, which has been Hamilton’s stark weakness over the last few years, he trailed teammate Charles Leclerc 19-5 (mirroring the “scoreline” from 2024 against his then Mercedes teammate George Russell) and was eliminated in Q1 in his last four qualifying sessions of the season, including the sprint in Qatar. What followed afterwards in the media pen was a man devoid of any hope and belief, almost unable to muster any words at all.
For Hamilton, an athlete so driven and hard-wired by high performance, it has been the toughest period of his career. When he signed a £50m-a-year contract at F1’s most fabled outfit in the sport’s biggest-ever driver move, it simply wasn’t meant to be like this.
“I feel terrible,” he said after round 22 in Las Vegas. “Terrible. It’s been the worst season ever. No matter how much I try, it keeps getting worse. I’m trying everything, in and out of the car.”
Has it been the car or the driver? Despite what Ferrari chairman John Elkann implied with his “talk less, focus on driving” comments last month, the answer is both.
Hamilton has found it difficult adapting to the capricious Ferrari car and the team’s antiquated way of working, particularly after 18 years of using Mercedes machinery. For instance, it was somewhat astonishing when, as rain fell at the season opener in Australia, he acknowledged that he wasn’t sure “which buttons to switch to” in the wet.
What was also clear from early on was Ferrari’s lack of progress over the off-season. From a point of finishing just 14 points behind champions McLaren in the 2024 constructors’ standings, they were now the fourth-quickest team, falling behind Mercedes and Red Bull.
Undoubtedly, when it became obvious a championship tilt was out of the question, Hamilton’s motivation and performance dipped. It was Ferrari’s first winless season since 2021.
But Leclerc’s dominance in qualifying and on the leaderboard – the Monegasque finishing 86 points ahead of Hamilton, with seven podiums to boot – also highlights the 28-year-old’s familiarity within the outfit in his seventh season, as well as his rapid one-lap prowess. Concurrently, Hamilton’s qualifying performances have dipped considerably, despite his having the most pole positions in F1 history.
Retirement talk for the legendary Briton, however, was far-fetched. Hamilton has a two-year contract at Ferrari, with an option for a third, and it is not in his character to throw in the towel when the going gets tough. In fact, history tells us Hamilton is often at his best when backed up against the wall, desperate to prove his doubters wrong.
All eyes now switch to 2026, when new engine and chassis regulations threaten to shake up the pecking order in arguably F1’s biggest-ever regulation change. Ferrari stopped development of their 2025 car in the summer, like most other teams, diverting attention to next year’s challenger.
The murmurs at this early stage are that Mercedes will be the frontrunners, such was their expertise in the last major engine-regulation change, back at the start of their hybrid-era dominance in 2014. If that is the case, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli will be eyeing a title challenge, as will their three customer teams (McLaren, Williams and Alpine).
And unequivocally, it will signify that Hamilton’s decision to move away from the Silver Arrows was a mistake.
However, until the cars are on the road at the first private pre-season test in Barcelona at the end of January, it is all just speculation. Perhaps it will be Ferrari who steal a march on their competitors, which could include the likes of Aston Martin and Williams next year. Under-pressure team principal Fred Vasseur, who retains the faith of Hamilton and Leclerc, will certainly hope so.
Hamilton stated in July that he has sent three documents to engineers and decision-makers, and his presence at this week’s post-season test in Abu Dhabi – an event he usually skips – speaks to a man ultra-focused on improving the once-great Italian outfit.
The other factor at play is whether Ferrari themselves change tack. Leclerc is contracted until the end of 2029 but was promoted after just one season of promise at Sauber in 2018. Ferrari junior Ollie Bearman has driven a solid rookie season at Haas and is the next cab off the rank. Should he star in 2026, would Ferrari be inclined to give the Essex boy a quickfire promotion?
The prospect of Bearman usurping Hamilton feels unlikely, despite the elder statesman’s difficulties this year, and especially if Ferrari can produce a car capable of winning grands prix. Because that will be the ultimate indication of Hamilton’s current powers. That would give him a chance of winning a record-breaking eighth championship.
And that would give him the opportunity of an F1 swansong he so desperately craves.
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