Lewis Hamilton said on Sunday that he is not looking forward to the 2026 Formula 1 season after a difficult year continued with a challenging weekend at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The seven time world champion, in his first year with Ferrari, qualified last for the race on pure pace for the first time in his 19 year F1 career. Hamilton recovered through the field to reach the points positions, but could not pass Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber on the medium tyre in the closing stages, finishing tenth. His classification was later upgraded to eighth after McLarens driven by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were disqualified for a technical infringement.
“It’s a terrible result. There is nothing positive to take from today,” Hamilton told BBC Radio 5 Live. “I’m eager for it to end, I’m looking forward to it ending. I’m not looking forward to the next one.” When asked if that referred to the Qatar race this weekend, he clarified, “Next season.”
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur said he would consider Hamilton’s comments after the team debrief, noting they were made in the heat of the moment. “Let’s calm down. To jump out of the car and to make the first comment it’s always a bit too much and let’s discuss after the debrief,” Vasseur said. “Obviously it has been tough for Lewis the last couple of weekends and he said it has been hard. I can understand the reaction from Lewis just after the race, but we just have to calm down to discuss and be focused on the next two races, because the next two we will be back. And keep in mind also that Lewis was there in FP1, in FP2 the pace was good, and it means that we have to build up the weekend like this. For sure, to start from P20 is not the best way to have a good result.”
Hamilton is sixth in the drivers’ championship, 73 points behind Ferrari team mate Charles Leclerc who is fifth. The 40 year old has yet to finish on the podium with Ferrari, though he won the sprint race in China in March. Should he fail to finish in the top three in the final two races of 2025, it would mark his first full season without a podium in Formula 1.
Hamilton struggled in qualifying in wet conditions on Friday in Las Vegas, particularly on the extreme wet tyre, and described his debut year with Ferrari as “a nightmare” after retiring from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix two weeks ago. In an interview with Sky Sports following the Vegas race, he said, “I feel terrible. It’s been the worst season ever and no matter how much I try, it keeps getting worse.”
