Lewis Hamilton draws Michael Schumacher retirement comparison after Qatar GP post-race behaviour

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Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton failed to score a point across a race weekend in Qatar for the third time this season.

The 2025 campaign has been a disaster for Ferrari, who will finish fourth in the constructors’ championship this year as Red Bull and Mercedes are now out of reach with one race to go.

After pointless weekends in Hungary and the Netherlands, Lewis Hamilton had a nightmare weekend at the Qatar Grand Prix.

For the first time since 2009, Hamilton has qualified outside the top 15 in three consecutive qualifying sessions.

He failed to get out of Q1 for both the Sprint Race and Sunday’s Grand Prix, and could only recover to 12th in a race where the majority of the midfield were stuck in one long DRS train.

Journalist Jose M. Zapico spotted something from Hamilton after the race that reminded him of the end of Michael Schumacher’s F1 career.

Hamilton might have one last chance in 2026 to dismiss those comparisons.

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Lewis Hamilton used ‘same gestures’ as Michael Schumacher after dismal Qatar Grand Prix

Hamilton sent a warning to Ferrari after the race, with concerns already growing that Ferrari might be on the back foot next year.

Fred Vasseur’s team have done nothing in 2025 to instil any confidence in their fans that 2026 will be any better, which is only going to frustrate Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc further.

Zapico said on X after the race: “Looking at Lewis Hamilton’s face in the paddock, he shows the same expression, the same gestures as Michael Schumacher in his Mercedes years…

“Helplessness, incomprehension at what is happening to them, a rampant lack of results that their teammates are achieving. Painful.”

There was one radio message from the 40-year-old that summed up Hamilton’s feelings about Qatar and the 2025 season as a whole.

As he entered the pits for the second time, Hamilton said: “What a s— race this is, mate.”

His race engineer, Riccardo Adami, could only reply: “Yeah,” highlighting the frustration throughout the team.

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Lewis Hamilton says Qatar GP safety car ‘didn’t play to our advantage’ at Ferrari

Leclerc could only convert his top 10 start into P8, finishing behind Fernando Alonso, and he would have been behind Isack Hadjar’s Racing Bulls were it not for a late puncture.

This highlights just how far Ferrari have fallen in the second half of 2025, and makes it clear that the blame can’t be entirely placed on Hamilton for struggling in the SF-25.

Speaking in his post-race media debrief, Hamilton explained: “We made a positive start and gained a few positions in the first stint, but the Safety Car didn’t play to our advantage, and I lost two positions after the double stack.

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“From that point, I found myself in a DRS train, which made progress difficult on a circuit where overtaking is limited.

“The focus is now on Abu Dhabi, and hopefully, we can end the season on a stronger note.”

Ferrari insiders haven’t been entirely happy with Hamilton recently, but the seven-time world champion has denied suggestions that he might walk away from the sport at the end of the season.

Ferrari fans aren’t blaming Hamilton, but that might change if Leclerc’s form picks up in 2026 and he fails to follow the Monegasque driver up the standings.