Lewis Hamilton’s turbulent first Ferrari season: What went wrong?

Hamilton's words at that time followed a miserable seventh position in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He bemoaned his SF-25 as a car for which there was "no fix". It simply would not do what he wanted. "I literally tried everything and the car just didn't want to work with me," he said at the time.

Unknown back then, and which only became apparent following a press conference with team principal Frédéric Vasseur in Qatar, the penultimate Grand Prix of the 24-race calendar, was that Ferrari had opted to shut down the aerodynamic development of its car at the end of April and focus on the wide-sweeping overhaul of the 2026 regulations.

Vasseur had decided, with Ferrari 110 points adrift of McLaren in the Constructors' Championship at that point, and believing that neither Hamilton nor team-mate Charles Leclerc had any hope in the Drivers' Championship, that throwing further resources at this year's challenger was futile.

The pain that Hamilton continued to endure slowly gnawed away at him as the season progressed, and by the end of the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend, it was clear he was at his wits' end.

Although the words were familiar — "I've tried everything, and it's just not working" — the tone was very different. Just over six months on from his remarks in Jeddah, Hamilton had never sounded as dejected. He stated at the time that he was "not looking forward" to next year, leading to the obvious question as to whether he was considering quitting. He at least dismissed that prospect.

But this was Hamilton at a very low ebb. You could sense the preceding ten months had taken their toll, and that it was more than just about the performance of a car on which he already knew in the in spring that there would be no aerodynamic development, so making results hard to come by.

By the end of his 19^th season in Formula 1, and for the first time, Hamilton ended without a Grand Prix podium, a shocking statistic when you consider that his previous lowest total had been five, in 2009, in his third year with McLaren, and in his first and last years with Mercedes, in 2013 and 2024.

Hamilton ended the year in ignominious fashion by failing to escape the first period of qualifying on three consecutive occasions, four if you include the sprint in Qatar. When he started last on the grid in Las Vegas, that sparked that wretched run, it was the first time he had done so on pure pace alone.

After being knocked out of Q1 in Abu Dhabi, to conclude the torture, he declared himself to be feeling "an unbearable amount of anger and rage". It had come to this.

In signing off for the year with an eighth-place finish at the Yas Marina Circuit, Hamilton said he would be "disconnecting, not speaking to anyone" during the closed season. He added that, "No one will be able to get hold of me this winter. I won’t have my phone with me, I’m looking forward to that. I would say I’ve generally always had it around. But this time, it’s going in the frickin' bin.”

So what next? 

During what was clearly a turbulent maiden year with Ferrari, around midway through, Hamilton had referred to drawing up documents he had handed over to the senior leaders of the team regarding improvements behind the scenes.

After 12 years with Mercedes, and being surprised at the Scuderia's modus operandi, it was evident that he felt there were areas inside Ferrari that required change to become more efficient and streamlined. Vasseur was receptive, but how much has and will continue to alter over the winter remains to be seen. Hamilton continued to mention "change" at the end of the season.

It would not be a surprise if, for instance, by the start of next season, one key component that has altered is a new race engineer for Hamilton, who appreciably struggled to adapt to Riccardo Adami. Unsurprising, given the positive relationship he enjoyed with Pete Bonnington during his time at Mercedes.

But regardless of the changes that are made, be it with personnel or processes, they are not going to propel Hamilton back onto the podium, never mind the top step. Sure, they might help, but there is only one fundamental component that will do that, and that is the car.

Hamilton's disconnect with the ground-effect car of the past four seasons has been alarming. In fairness, Mercedes did not aid the cause with its first iteration in 2022, which suffered horrifically with the phenomenon that became known as 'porpoising'. The cars that followed in 2023 and 2024 were improvements but still required a style of driving that Hamilton struggled to adapt to.

It meant that for 2025, with Hamilton moving to a new team, with new people, different processes, and driving a car in the final year of a regulation set he has never enjoyed, it was always going to be a recipe for disaster. And so it proved.

The 2026 cars will require adaptation again, and a type of management unlike anything we may not have previously witnessed, given the switch to the 50/50 split between electrical power and internal combustion.

The saving grace for Hamilton is that aerodynamically, there is a return to the type of car which should suit his driving style, in which he likes to brake late, rotate the car through a corner, whilst maintaining a level of speed that does not compromise the exit.

It becomes a question of whether Ferrari can deliver on that front. It has certainly afforded itself the time to adapt to the regulations, given its early shutdown of the 2025 car.

On that basis, you would assume Hamilton's second season with Ferrari cannot be as bad as his first. There is hope. Conversely, though, if it fails to hit the ground running, questions over Hamilton's future and whether he will want to continue will undoubtedly form part of the narrative early next year. 

Images courtesy of Getty Images.