Lewis Hamilton Admits 2025 F1 Season Is a Write-Off as Ferrari Struggles Persist
Lewis Hamilton has effectively written off the 2025 Formula 1 season just a few races into his debut campaign with Ferrari, conceding that the team’s current issues with the SF-25 are too significant to overcome in the short term. Following a difficult Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend, the seven-time world champion expressed deep frustration, acknowledging that the season is shaping up to be a “painful” one and far from what he had envisioned when he made his high-profile switch from Mercedes.
Hamilton’s remarks came after a tough race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit—a high-speed, technical street circuit where he has historically struggled. This year’s outing proved particularly disheartening. While his teammate Charles Leclerc managed to extract competitive performance from the car and secured Ferrari’s first podium of the season with a strong third-place finish, Hamilton lagged well behind. He qualified almost half a second slower than Leclerc and finished the race in seventh, over 30 seconds adrift.
It wasn’t just Leclerc’s pace that made Hamilton’s result stand out—it was also the performance of 18-year-old Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli. The Italian teenager, who stepped into Hamilton’s former seat, impressed the paddock with a poised and confident drive that saw him finish ahead of the veteran. The contrast between the emerging talent and Hamilton’s ongoing struggles has only added to the scrutiny surrounding the Briton’s move to Ferrari.
Hamilton had arrived in Saudi Arabia with cautious optimism, especially after what he believed was a promising showing in Bahrain. At that point, he felt some progress was being made in understanding the SF-25’s complex setup. However, any glimmer of hope was quickly extinguished in Jeddah, where the Ferrari once again proved inconsistent and difficult to handle—at least in Hamilton’s hands.
Post-race, Hamilton gave a brutally honest assessment of his situation, admitting that neither he nor the team had a clear grasp of what’s going wrong. “I wish I could tell you what the issue is,” he told reporters. “But it’s not just one thing. The balance is off, I don’t feel connected to the car, and nothing we try seems to make a real difference. It’s incredibly frustrating.”
That uncertainty about the root of the problems is perhaps the most worrying sign. While Leclerc seems to be adapting to the car’s peculiarities and finding ways to maximize its performance, Hamilton has yet to find a comfortable rhythm. The lack of concrete feedback is hindering both his confidence and the team’s ability to tailor the car to his driving style. As a result, doubts are beginning to grow over whether this high-profile partnership can yield the success both sides had hoped for.
What’s particularly striking is how early Hamilton appears to have accepted that 2025 will not be a championship-contending year. With 19 races still remaining on the calendar, his comments reflect a rare and raw admission of defeat. “Right now, it is what it is,” he said. “There’s no magic fix coming. This car isn’t working for me, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. It’s going to be a long, tough season.”
This sort of blunt outlook is uncommon for Hamilton, who is typically known for his resilience and ability to find silver linings. But it also underscores the depth of the challenge he’s facing. Transitioning to a new team is always difficult, but the level of disconnection he’s experiencing with the Ferrari SF-25 is unlike anything he’s faced in recent years. From balance issues to lack of feedback, the car simply doesn’t feel intuitive to him.
Meanwhile, the internal comparison with Leclerc only intensifies the pressure. The Monegasque driver’s ability to work around the car’s limitations and put Ferrari on the podium adds an extra layer of frustration for Hamilton, who remains stuck in the midfield fight. The fact that Leclerc is delivering results with the same machinery leaves little room for excuses.
Looking forward, Hamilton seems to have shifted focus from short-term results to long-term planning. With the sweeping regulation changes set for 2026, it’s clear he now sees this season as more of a development year—an opportunity to learn, adapt, and contribute to Ferrari’s long-term progress. However, that doesn’t make the current struggles any easier to endure, especially for a driver used to fighting for titles.
As things stand, the dream of a fairytale debut season at Ferrari has quickly turned into a reality check. Unless something drastically changes, Hamilton’s 2025 campaign will be more about perseverance than podiums, and more about rebuilding than racing for glory.
