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Lewis Hamilton can finally wave goodbye to what was officially the worst and most frustrating season of his Formula 1 career so far.
Joining Ferrari didn’t turn out to be the fairytale story he might have been hoping for, as he finished sixth in the drivers’ championship, nearly 100 points adrift of his teammate.
There was a lot of hype and expectation about Hamilton’s move over the winter, with some excited to see him step onto a podium in red. Sadly, he never got that chance in a Grand Prix.
Looking ahead to the 2026 F1 regulations, improvement is required if the partnership between one of the greatest teams and one of the greatest drivers of all time is to last. Both sides know it, too.
The 2026 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be Lewis Hamilton’s final F1 race – discuss.
Fans will love Hamilton’s unbroadcast radio message from Abu Dhabi, where he said that he would always fight for them, no matter the situation.
Ahead of a fellow countryman winning his first Formula 1 title, Hamilton told Norris not to ‘change anything’, as his advice seemed to work. McLaren has their first new champion since Hamilton in 2008.
READ MORE: Martin Brundle says Ferrari ‘must be eyeing’ one F1 driver as Lewis Hamilton’s struggles continue
Lewis Hamilton’s ‘stop’ message shows why Ferrari need to change his engineer for 2026
Damon Hill wonders if Hamilton has ‘lost his edge’ after going through an entire season without scoring a podium for the first time in his career.
The last few weekends, in particular, have been a difficult watch. Martin Brundle thinks it’s tough listening to Hamilton and how dejected he sounds in his interviews.
He’ll be hoping that a new generation of car is enough to change his fortunes, and will suit his driving style for a few more years. Otherwise, he might be hitting retirement sooner than anticipated.
Prove me wrong: Mercedes would have still let Lewis Hamilton go before 2026 even if he hadn’t joined Ferrari
His heated exchange with race engineer Riccardo Adami in Abu Dhabi shows exactly why his team must make a change over the winter. They don’t have any chemistry after 24 races together, and change is needed.
At one stage in the race, Hamilton informed his team by saying, “Bearman off at Turn 1.”
Adami responded with, “Okay, reporting.” But, Hamilton fired back at him: “No need to confirm, man, I’m just telling you!”
“Understood,” Adami replied. Then, Hamilton shouted at him once more: “Stop confirming!”
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton refutes what Fred Vasseur has just said about Ferrari’s miserable 2025 F1 season
Did Lewis Hamilton make the right choice to join Ferrari for 2025?
It has been nearly two years since Hamilton confirmed his blockbuster move to Ferrari ahead of the 2024 season, which was the talk of the paddock.
F1 fans urged Ferrari to replace Lewis Hamilton after he was eliminated after Q1 in Abu Dhabi, insisting that Oliver Bearman is the option for the future.
Even ex-teammate Nico Rosberg thinks Hamilton is ‘stuck’ at Ferrari and struggling to find answers to his current woes.
If he doesn’t compete for podiums next year at the very least, then he will be in big trouble. His status for 2027 isn’t confirmed yet, and he still has to perform to prove that he deserves a drive.
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