Lewis Hamilton Sends Defiant Message to Ferrari as Season Struggles Deepen
Lewis Hamilton has insisted he remains steadfast, motivated, and fully committed to helping Ferrari finish the 2025 Formula 1 season on a stronger note, even as the team endures another painful setback. The seven-time World Champion’s optimism shines through despite Ferrari suffering their third double non-scoring weekend of the year, this time at the Brazilian Grand Prix in São Paulo.
Ferrari’s outing at Interlagos was disastrous from the start. Hamilton found himself pitched out of the race after a chain of collisions involving his team-mate Carlos Sainz and Williams driver Franco Colapinto. The contact damaged Hamilton’s SF-25 beyond recovery and forced the Brit into an early retirement. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc’s race ended just moments later when he was wiped out in the chaotic lap-one clash involving Oscar Piastri and Kimi Antonelli, leaving Ferrari with zero points from both cars yet again.
This latest blow adds to a growing list of setbacks for the Italian team, following their double disqualification at the Chinese Grand Prix and another non-score earlier at the Dutch Grand Prix. The compounded damage has left Ferrari winless 21 races into the 2025 season, an achievement the Maranello squad has not endured in more than a decade.
As it stands, Ferrari sit third in the Constructors’ Championship, four points behind Red Bull and 36 points adrift of Mercedes. With only three races left in the calendar—Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi—the gap is not insurmountable, but the team’s ongoing performance issues make the challenge steep.
At the center of Ferrari’s ongoing technical frustrations is the SF-25’s persistent ride-height and plank wear issues, a problem that has plagued them since the start of the season. Ferrari have been forced to run the car higher than ideal to avoid excessive plank wear—a regulation breach that already cost Hamilton a disqualification in China. But raising the ride height has come with its own consequences: compromised aerodynamic efficiency, lost downforce, and inconsistent cornering performance.
Despite these hurdles, Hamilton’s outlook remains notably resilient. Speaking to media including RacingNews365, the 40-year-old expressed confidence that both he and the team still have something to fight for.
“We will come back fighting in the next races,” Hamilton emphasized, making it clear that the setbacks have not weakened his determination. “There are still points on the table, and that will be our mindset. I don’t ever expect anything—so for Las Vegas, we are just going to turn up and give absolutely everything.”
For Hamilton, the final races hold personal significance as well. With no podium finishes so far this season, he faces the prospect of losing one of the most remarkable statistics of his career: having stood on the podium at least once in every single season since his F1 debut in 2007. With only three events left, the record is under genuine threat—but Hamilton insists he will not let that pressure define him.
Looking beyond the current crisis, Hamilton also shared thoughts about Ferrari’s prospects under the radically new 2026 technical regulations, which will usher in a new engine formula and drastically different aerodynamic concepts. Hamilton acknowledged that the team’s competitiveness for the next era remains an unknown but said he remains hopeful.
“I never expect anything, except for us to give our best always,” he said. “I know everyone is working as hard as they can in the background to make sure we start on the right foot next year. I have no idea where we will be, but I’m keeping everything crossed and hoping for the best.”
Ferrari’s 2026 project is already deep in development, with the team overhauling its chassis philosophy and engine architecture in anticipation of the new rules. Hamilton’s confidence appears rooted in Ferrari’s historical resilience, its powerful technical base, and the visible internal restructuring the team has undergone since he joined at the start of the 2025 season.
However, the immediate reality remains challenging. Ferrari must now regroup quickly to avoid ending the season without a single victory, a scenario that would mark one of the most disappointing campaigns in the team’s illustrious history. Yet Hamilton’s message is crystal clear: defeat is not an option. With three races remaining, the Brit believes there is still time to salvage pride, score valuable points, and lay the foundation for a stronger resurgence in 2026.
