Lewis Hamilton has been open about his frustrations during his debut season at Ferrari
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Everything Lewis Hamilton has said about his Ferrari frustrations amid uncertain future:
- Self-Critical and Defeated Remarks : Hamilton has occasionally taken the blame for the performance struggles, using strong self-deprecating language. After a disappointing qualifying session for the Hungarian Grand Prix where he was knocked out in Q2 while his team-mate, Charles Leclerc, took pole position, he said: “It’s me every time. I’m useless, absolutely useless. The team have no problem. You’ve seen the car’s on pole. So we probably need to change driver.”
- Describing the Season and Experience : Following a difficult weekend at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix that resulted in a DNF, he said: “It’s a nightmare… I’ve been living it for a while. The flip between the dream of driving for this amazing team and then the nightmare of the results that we’ve had. We are just really having to fight through those hardships at the moment.”
- Eagerness For The Season To End: After the Las Vegas Grand Prix, where he qualified last but recovered to score points. He later clarified that in the “heat of frustration,” he was actually excited to see what the team builds for next year. “It’s a terrible result. There is nothing positive to take from today… I’m eager for it to end, I’m looking forward to it ending. I’m not looking forward to the next one [which he later clarified to mean next season].”
- Critiques of Car Performance and Setup : Hamilton has consistently pointed to the car’s handling and lack of performance. Speaking after the Qatar Sprint, he said: “We just don’t have any stability. So when I say that, it’s the rear end is not planted. So it’s sliding, snapping a lot. Then we have bouncing. So when you’re going into corners… the thing starts bouncing.”
- Tense Radio Messages Over Strategy: It’s been quite the adjustment this season for Hamilton who had Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington as his race engineer for 11 years at Mercedes. There has been occasions where he’s questioned the race strategy to his race engineer Riccardo Adami, namely after the Las Vegas GP. At the time, he said: “What happened with the strategy, how did I end up in 10th? I thought we were looking good at one point. How did Mercedes that were behind me get all the way up there?”
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- Response to Criticism and Future Outlook : Despite the frustration, Hamilton has defended his commitment and maintained a focus on the future. In response to Ferrari president John Elkann’s comment that he should “focus on driving and talk less”, Hamilton said: “We’ve just been focused on doing our job back at the factory, so everyone’s super-focused on improving. I speak to John every week. We have an amazing relationship. The passion has not disappeared from our team.”
- Hope for 2026 and Beyond: While the Briton’s contract at Ferrari remains until the end of 2026, speculation has been rife surrounding his future in F1. When discussing his hope for next season, Hamilton was bullish about his belief in the team. He said: “I truly still believe in this team and what we can achieve together. I just have to keep pushing and keep giving them everything I can.”
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