Lewis Hamilton’s former mechanic says his confidence is totally ‘gone’ after what he saw at Qatar GP

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Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton bowed out after the opening part of a Sprint Qualifying session for the second time in 2025, having only secured P18 at the Qatar Grand Prix.

The 40-year-old has also now failed to advance past the first phase of any qualifying session four times this term, having bowed out after Q1 during two Grand Prix qualifying sessions so far. In total, Hamilton has also now failed to advance to the last phase of qualifying 10 times.

Ferrari saw Hamilton qualify last on pace for the first time in his F1 career in Las Vegas, as he penned his second Q1 exit of 2025 so far. Now, Sprint Qualifying at the Qatar GP equals his worst qualifying for a 100km dash in 2025, copying his P18 in Belgium for the wrong reason.

Hamilton won the Sprint in China from pole position back in round two in March for his only victory in any race format as a Ferrari driver to date. He also reached P3 in the Miami Sprint, which remains his second and most recent podium in any race type during the 2025 season.

Lewis Hamilton’s confidence is ‘clearly’ gone after his SQ1 exit at the Qatar Grand Prix

After 22 of 24 rounds, Hamilton remains without a Grand Prix podium for Ferrari. The seven-time F1 champion has never previously failed to get at least one podium in any season of his 19-year career. His woes have all seen Hamilton call his first year with Ferrari a “nightmare”.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family

Hamilton called 2025 his “worst season ever” in F1 after the Las Vegas GP, as well. And Marc Priestley, who worked with Hamilton when he won his first title with McLaren in 2008, thinks the Briton’s endless plight with Ferrari this year is clearly a sign that his confidence has gone.

“It’s really quite sad to see this,” former F1 mechanic Priestley told BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra (28/11, 17:44) after Hamilton’s SQ1 exit in Qatar. “One thing we know about Lewis Hamilton is, we know how talented he is, we know how experienced he is, he’s got a lot in his locker.

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“We also know how he’s affected emotionally by performance, by things going on around him. And when his confidence goes, which it clearly has in recent times at the tail end of the year, it massively affects how he shows up and how he performs. I’ve seen it up close.”

Sprint Qualifying in Qatar adds another sorry layer to Lewis Hamilton’s first year at Ferrari

Sprint Qualifying at the Qatar GP this Friday marks just another sorry layer amid a miserable debut campaign as a Ferrari driver during the 2025 F1 season for Hamilton. His Sprint win in China back in March is just a distant memory of the hope he had upon arriving in Maranello.

Such has been his plight in 2025, Hamilton claimed he is “not looking forward” to 2026 amid his misery in Las Vegas. Scoring just 152 points from 22 rounds, setting him up for his worst total under the points system used since 2010, has totally destroyed Hamilton’s confidence.

It has also been said amid his endless run of misery that Hamilton fulfilling his contract with Ferrari is not set in stone. He left Mercedes to replace Carlos Sainz in Maranello on an initial two-year deal, which includes an option to stay with the Scuderia through the 2027 season.