Lewis Hamilton Concedes 2025 F1 Season Is a Lost Cause Amid Ferrari Woes
Lewis Hamilton has publicly acknowledged that he has lost hope in the remainder of the 2025 Formula 1 season following another disappointing performance at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion, now in his debut year with Scuderia Ferrari, admitted that there is “no quick fix” for the persistent issues plaguing his SF-25 challenger. With a heavy heart, Hamilton has effectively written off the rest of the campaign, warning fans and media that the upcoming races will be “painful.”
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, held at the high-speed Jeddah Corniche Circuit, brought more frustration than progress for the 40-year-old Briton. Historically, Jeddah has never been one of Hamilton’s strongest tracks, but even by those standards, his performance this year was far below expectations. He was significantly off the pace in qualifying—almost half a second slower than his teammate Charles Leclerc. In the race itself, the gap widened alarmingly. While Leclerc secured Ferrari’s first podium of the season, finishing third, Hamilton labored home in a distant seventh, over 30 seconds adrift of his teammate.
To make matters worse, Hamilton was also comfortably beaten by 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli, the young Italian prodigy who replaced him at Mercedes. Antonelli’s composed and confident drive only highlighted the growing contrast between Hamilton’s struggles and the performance levels of the next generation.
Coming into the Saudi Arabian round, Hamilton was hopeful. His drive at the Bahrain Grand Prix had left him cautiously optimistic, as he believed he had found a setup that allowed him to better understand and extract performance from the Ferrari SF-25. But that hope was short-lived. Jeddah’s results have only reinforced the notion that the car’s issues run deeper than just setup tweaks.
Speaking candidly to media, including Total-Motorsport.com, Hamilton shared his growing frustration and resignation. “I don’t have an answer for you, no,” he said. “There’s nothing. Balance, struggling to feel the car beneath me, but there’s no particular thing. It’s just… there’s nothing to say, ‘Hey, this is the issue.’”
The ambiguity of the problem has made it impossible for Ferrari and Hamilton to chart a clear path forward. While Leclerc seems to have found a way to at least compete for podiums, Hamilton’s connection with the car remains elusive. The SF-25 appears unpredictable and inconsistent in his hands, and despite the team’s best efforts, a breakthrough has yet to be found.
Hamilton didn’t sugarcoat the situation. He bluntly stated that there would be no sudden turnaround this year: “At the moment, there’s no fix. This is how it’s going to be for the rest of the year. It’s just going to be painful.”
This level of transparency from Hamilton is rare, especially so early in the season. With 19 races still remaining on the calendar, the admission that he has given up on the season is a striking one. It also reflects the stark contrast between expectations and reality. Hamilton’s high-profile switch from Mercedes to Ferrari had been billed as a historic and potentially career-defining move. Fans and analysts alike were hopeful that his presence would help lift Ferrari back to championship contention. Instead, the partnership has so far yielded frustration and underperformance.
Hamilton’s current mood stands in contrast to that of Leclerc, who has taken on the role of team leader and shown consistent pace since the season began. While Leclerc is not yet in a position to challenge the dominant Red Bull outfit on a regular basis, he has at least shown that the SF-25 can be competitive under the right circumstances. That only adds to the confusion surrounding Hamilton’s difficulties, as both drivers are working with identical machinery.
With morale low and answers elusive, Hamilton’s focus now seems to be on damage control and looking ahead to 2026, when new regulations could offer a fresh opportunity. Until then, however, the reality is grim. As one of the sport’s greatest ever drivers faces perhaps his most challenging season, the emotional toll is evident. What was meant to be a glorious chapter with Ferrari is, for now, a sobering reminder that even legends can struggle to find their footing in Formula 1.
The season is far from over in terms of races, but for Lewis Hamilton, it already feels like the battle has been lost.
