It was hard to watch Lewis Hamilton‘s post-race interviews with the media after Las Vegas.
Even though the seven-time world champion made up nine places from his 19th place start on the grid, Hamilton cut a dejected image of someone with absolutely no passion for the sport anymore.
The 2025 season has not been the year it was meant to be for the Scuderia. Instead of historic victories with adoring fans, Ferrari has struggled immensely to get their car under control and has not won a grand prix since Carlos Sainz’ win in Mexico 2024.
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“I feel terrible,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 immediately after Las Vegas.
“It’s been the worst season ever and no matter how much I try, it just keeps getting worse.
Lewis Hamilton has had a season of ongoing struggles with Ferrari in 2025. Â Getty
“I’m trying everything in and out of the car.”
“I don’t even know how many points we have, but at this rate, with my performance, we’re done,” he added.
“Zero. Zero. The most meaningless nine places, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s still a bad weekend.”
“I mean, I’ve had 22 bad weekends. So I anticipate another couple.”
Las Vegas was supposed to be a highlight of the team’s unity, after Ferrari chairman John Elkann publicly lashed out at his F1 drivers, saying they were “not up to par”.
Instead, Las Vegas showed the team’s disarray in comparison to Ferrari’s other motorsport projects.
Ferrari celebrated the 2025 WEC championship in Bahrain. NurPhoto via Getty Images
In the World Endurance Championship, Ferrari took both the drivers’ and constructors’ championship home and Antonio Fuoco scored Ferrari’s first win in the FIA GT World Cup at Macau.
So, as the other motorsport entries are championing their categories, Ferrari’s arguably most high-profile team is in dismal form.
Former McLaren teammate Jenson Button admitted that although Hamilton was holding himself to a high standard in tough times, this was the worst spell in the 40-year-old’s illustrious career.
“I feel Lewis has carried himself really well this year,” Button said during Sky Sports pundit duties in Las Vegas.
“It’s been a very difficult season for someone of his calibre. He’s carried himself so well.
“It’s the first time I feel we’ve really seen him seriously deflated.
Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton were teammates at McLaren Mercedes. Â Getty
“It gets to you. Mentally it’s draining when you have a few bad races.
“It felt like it was on the up and this might be one bad race. It might be back for the next one – and I hope so.
“If he has a bad race he’s very good at turning it around at the next one.
“It won’t weigh on him after this weekend but it’s a tough moment for his career right now.”
What does this mean for Ferrari?
The more Ferrari slides down the constructors’ standings, the more money they lose.
They now sit in fourth place behind Red Bull, Mercedes and champions McLaren and do not look like they will be fighting to move further up the ladder.
The difference between second and fourth in prize money amounts to around $26m ($46.3m AUD) in 2024 figures – when the 2025 prize pool is determined based on F1 revenue after the final race, it is almost certain that this figure will significantly increase.
Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Scuderia Ferrari on the drivers parade. Getty
The Las Vegas street circuit was meant to suit the Ferrari SF25, long straights with slow corners that allowed Leclerc and Hamilton to make up long-lost points in the championship.
Instead, confusion and a lack of bold strategy meant that a 10th and sixth place result had both drivers calling it a “meaningless” outing.
Hamilton was caught out by a radio call at the end of qualifying, meaning for the first time in his career, he did not set a flying lap on the rain-soaked track and started from 20th on the grid due to outright pace.
Leclerc ended up in a train of drivers during the race with Australian Oscar Piastri and Kimi Antonelli, leaving him in dirty air that he could not get through, unable to make up any positions.
Both were completely despondent when fronting the media post-race, leaving many to ask is there any hope for the Formula 1 drivers?
Hamilton ‘not looking forward’ to 2026
Should Hamilton fail to finish in the top three in the final two races of 2025, it would mark a first season without a podium finish for the British driver in F1.
Although he did win the sprint race in China earlier in the year – he was immediately brought back down to earth with a disqualification in Sunday’s race for excessive skid wear.
And that sums up the season Hamilton has had.
Any positive results have been immediately marred by negatives.
Lewis Hamilton took victory in the Chinese sprint, but that only handed him eight points. Â LAT Images
Even looking towards 2026, a clean slate, Hamilton could not see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“I’m eager for it to end, I’m looking forward to it ending. I’m not looking forward to the next one,” he said to media, hinting that 2026 will not bring any new improvement.
Ferrari will need to turn around and prepare for the final two race weekends in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, two grands prix and a sprint with 58 points available.
Qatar begins with the sprint on Sunday morning at 1am AEDT.