Last Updated on December 1 2025, 2:34 pm

Hamilton is in the midst of a nightmare and has a big announcement for 2026 – The end of this season has been a nightmare for both Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari. Following a disappointing qualifying session, the seven-time world champion finished 12th in Qatar on Sunday, clearly not feeling optimistic.

Although he admits that he is going through a difficult period, the British driver isn’t giving up and believes that he can turn things around in 2026, making clear in a big announcement that might surprise many.

 

A season to forget for Ferrari

Ferrari’s 2025 campaign has been a disappointment, particularly for Lewis Hamilton. While Charles Leclerc secured seven podium finishes, Hamilton endured a difficult season. With the Scuderia already looking ahead to next year, the seven-time world champion could only manage 12th place in Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix.

Facing a difficult year, Hamilton admitted that it had been challenging on multiple fronts.

“This year has undoubtedly been the most challenging, both technically and personally. There are many areas in which I and the team can improve,” he told reporters, including TJ13.

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RTL pundit Christian Danner had words of admiration for Hamilton.

However, what the 40-year-old experienced in Qatar could easily be considered a low point. Just a few weeks ago in Mexico City, it looked as though a breakthrough was imminent. In the battle for lap times in qualifying, Hamilton sensationally raced to third place in the SF-25, performing at the same level as his Ferrari team rival, Charles Leclerc.

Afterwards, he said that he finally understood the car. The hoped-for improvement failed to materialise: In Brazil and Las Vegas, Hamilton trailed hopelessly behind once again.

“It’s an endless story, of course, but one thing has to be said: it’s an absolute disaster,” Christian Danner commented on RTL about Hamilton’s first season with the Ferrari team.

“The way Hamilton fits into the team and how he gets along with what he has at his disposal is somehow not worthy of his level,” said the RTL expert.

F1 driver trash talk again in Qatar

 

Danner praised Hamilton as a “fighter”.

He added that the fact the Brit is already focusing on 2025 and hoping to redeem himself “speaks in his favour”, praising Hamilton’s mentality. ‘He’s a fighter; he doesn’t give up. That’s why there’s only one thing for him to do: put it behind him, keep his head down and move on!”

After 23 of the 24 Grand Prix weekends, Hamilton is sixth in the drivers’ championship, 78 points behind his teammate Leclerc in fifth place. So far, the Englishman has not even managed to finish on the Ferrari podium.

Hamilton launches a scathing attack on the Qatar GP

 

Optimism and a big announcement for 2026

Despite the struggles, Hamilton remains hopeful for the future, making a big annoucement for the 2026 season that might surprise many off the back of such a horror weekend.

‘The future will tell if we act accordingly, maintain our strengths and correct our weaknesses,” said Hamilton, “of which there are many.” he admits.

“There is absolutely no reason why we cannot do so if we implement the areas for improvement. I am hopeful that we will make progress in 2026,” he concluded.

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NEXT ARTICLE: McLaren’s bizarre reaction to Piastri post Qatar calamity

How papaya rules cost McLaren dear and Piastri is abandoned come the end of the race – One ironic soul in the TJ13 family observed of McLaren’s efforts in Qatar, they clearly have shares in Netflix ‘drive to Survive’ Formula One TV series. The calamity in the middle eastern desert is the second week in the row the Woking based team have gifted Red Bull and Max Verstappen the chance to slash the deficit in the drivers’ championship and the reaction from team boss Andrea Stella reveals papaya rules were at the heart of their huge mistake.

With Pirelli mandating no tyre could be run former than 25 laps, the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix was effectively forced into at least a two stop race. Teams strategised into the night on Saturday to determine their responses to various outcomes during the race on Sunday.

Qatar has a 100% record of seeing a safety car deployed and when the F1 gods wrote the script for the Grand Prix, lap 7 was the perfect time for Bern Mylander to take to the track. A coming together between Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly left carbon fibre strewn across the lap at turn two. It was immediately obvious to all that a safety car would be deployed to cover the clear up.

 

When “papaya rules” went bad

The leaders were less than a quarter of the way around the lap at the time and had plenty of opportunity to debate what to do. Lap 7 was the earliest opportunity for any driver to pit and retain the ability to just two stop and given the limited laps the tyres were allowed to run, the two remaining 25 lap stints were never going to create excessive tyre degradation.

McLaren have lived and died by their ‘papaya rules’ this season which insist the team will be fair to both its drivers when it comes to racing and the championship. For their strategy team any pint stop under a safety car would need to ensure both drivers could be serviced without one being disadvantaged.

The team even switched their drivers around on track, following one being disadvantaged by the pit stop crew taking five seconds to service Lando Norris in Monza. Their extreme ‘meddling’ has been a paddock talking point all year and the issuing ‘consequences’ to Lando Norris for a racing incident in Singapore saw some F1 analysts question the team’s grip on reality.

When the safety car came out on lap 7 in Qatar, Andrea Stella revealed the team strategists didn’t believe they could stack Norris behind Piastri without disadvantaging his position as one of the reasons they failed to pit for fresh rubber…READ MORE ON THIS STORY