Hamilton declares 2025 his “worst season ever” – Ferrari wonders if it’s too late to undo the contract: Lewis Hamilton arrived at Ferrari at the start of this season with hopes higher than the carbon-fibre roofline of the Maranello factory. However, after another disappointing race in Las Vegas, the seven-time world champion appears to have hit rock bottom. Naturally, he chose the Sky microphones to share his feelings.
“I feel terrible. This has been the worst season I’ve ever had,” he sighed, delivering the kind of brutally honest review normally reserved for customer feedback forms.
“No matter how hard I try, it only gets worse. I’m trying everything, absolutely everything.”
He added that this extends to both ‘in the car’ and ‘outside the car’, a statement sure to spark debate about whether Ferrari’s issue is aerodynamic, psychological, or somewhere in the overlap between astrology and tyre warm-up.
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Hamilton currently sits sixth in the World Championship, an achievement only if you compare it to being seventh. At Ferrari, however, expectations are famously non-negotiable: you must win, or at least appear to be capable of winning. Hamilton, unfortunately, has done neither.
Even worse, he and his teammate Charles Leclerc recently received what the Italian media politely termed ‘sharp criticism’ from Ferrari boss John Elkann, though eyewitnesses described it as more akin to a boardroom intervention with the tension of a hostage negotiation.
The low point came during qualifying in Vegas. Practice offered some hope, but Hamilton’s Saturday crumbled faster than a Ferrari strategic plan under pressure. He finished last. Dead last. It was a position he had avoided for 19 years, through V6 hybrids, tyre wars, engine freezes and several questionable stewarding decisions.
For a man who once made coming second feel like a funeral, this was truly uncharted territory.
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Two races left to save… something
Ferrari now heads to Qatar and Abu Dhabi, two venues known for their beautiful night races and complex strategies. For Hamilton, there is now a faint possibility that he might end the season without immediately asking for the return policy on his contract.
Meanwhile, Ferrari remains winless and sits fourth in the Constructors’ standings, behind McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull. For Maranello, this kind of situation normally results in emergency meetings, symbolic scapegoats and at least one rumour about signing a new technical director being leaked. Or perhaps three.
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“One of the Most Meaningless Tenth Places Ever”
Somehow, Hamilton salvaged one point in Vegas — a fact that brought him little joy.
“It means absolutely nothing,” he said. “One of the most meaningless tenth places ever…”
It takes a special kind of weekend to make a Formula 1 point feel like a punishment rather than a reward, but Hamilton pulled it off. When Sky tentatively asked if there was anything positive to take away from the race, such as the mood or the energy, or even the free fountains outside the Bellagio, the answer was curt: “No.”
And that was that.
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“At This Pace, We’re Out” – A Seasonal Epitaph
When asked whether Ferrari could still aim for second place in the Constructors’ Championship, Hamilton replied with the mathematical confidence of someone who had not checked the standings in weeks.
“I don’t even know how many points we have,” he admitted. “But at this pace, with my performance, we’re out.”
This refreshing honesty would be commendable if it weren’t describing the collapse of one of the most famous teams in motorsport.
An early exit for Hamilton from Formula 1?
Paddock chatter has now taken a sharper turn, with speculation swirling that Lewis Hamilton may not even make it to the start of the 2026 season.
According to several TJ13 contacts inside Ferrari, quiet conversations in Maranello suggest that the seven-time world champion could walk away from the team, and possibly the sport, sooner rather than later. While nothing has been confirmed, the tone of the whispers has shifted from the hypothetical to the genuinely concerned, hinting that Hamilton’s frustrations may be pushing him towards an early exit, long before the new regulations come into effect.
With two races left, Hamilton is still hoping to achieve something positive in his first season with Ferrari. Whether that ‘something’ will be a result, a breakthrough or simply the return of a functioning sense of humour remains to be seen.
One thing is certain: if 2025 was supposed to be a fairy tale, someone misread the script and delivered a tragedy instead.
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NEXT ARTICLE: Why Andy Cowell signed his own death warrant at Aston Martin
Andy Cowell is the current CEO and team principal of the Aston Martin team, yet his position is under fire as big dog Christian Horner is looking for a return to Formula One.
The British engineer made a name for himself by heading up the Mercedes HPP programme for the all new V6 turbo hybrid power units introduced into the sport in 2014. The Mercedes team went on to dominate for eight consecutive seasons winning the constructor’s title along with seven driver championships.
Yet Cowell since replacing Mike Krack as the head of the Aston Martin programme has failed to impress both in front of the camera and behind the schemes in Silverstone. At the Singapore Grand Prix he was dismissive of reports that Christian Horner was in discussions with the Silverstone based team over his F1 return.
Cowell belittled Aston’s interest in Horner in Singapore
Presenting himself as a bestie with billionaire team owner Lawrence Stroll he repeatedly made representations to the assembled media across the weekend which implied the former Red Bull boss was desperately calling everyone in F1 to find a job.
“I had a chat with Lawrence (Stroll, Aston Martin owner) this morning to find out what he knows. It looks as though Christian’s ringing up pretty much every team owner at the moment,” Cowell said Friday ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix. “I can clearly say there are no plans for involvement of Christian either in an operational or investment role in the future.”
The recent news that Horner is indeed in the running for the most senior role at the Silverstone based team now suggests Cowell is not in the inner circle of Stroll’s confidantes. Report have been emerging for some time that there is internal strife at Aston Martin and that Cowell is unable to manage the genius that is Adrian Newey.
It was announced when Newey joined the team that he would concentrate on the 2026 project solely, but Cowell has at times attempted to influence him to lend a hand to this year’s project in an attempt to improve the team’s final standings come Abu Dhabi…READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
Craig.J. Alderson is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Craig oversees newsroom operations and coordinates editorial output across the site. With a background in online sports reporting and motorsport magazine editing, he plays a key role in maintaining consistency, speed, and accuracy in TJ13’s coverage.
During race weekends, Craig acts as desk lead, directing contributors, prioritising breaking stories, and ensuring timely publication across a fast-moving news cycle.
Craig’s work focuses heavily on real-time developments in the paddock, including team updates, regulatory decisions, and emerging controversies. This role requires a detailed understanding of Formula 1’s operational flow, from practice sessions through to race-day strategy and post-race fallout.
With experience managing editorial teams, Craig ensures that TJ13 delivers structured, reliable coverage while maintaining the site’s distinctive voice.
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