Lewis Hamilton 'not looking forward to 2026' amid Ferrari misery
A miserable Lewis Hamilton has dropped a shock claim about his future with Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton says he is “not looking forward” to the 2026 F1 season amid an extremely challenging first year with Ferrari.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton finished 10th in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, having qualified last for a race on outright pace for the first time in his career.
Hamilton was later promoted to eighth after McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were disqualified from the race for excessive plank wear.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Hamilton made a stunning claim about the 2026 season.
"It's a terrible result. There is nothing positive to take from today," Hamilton told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"I'm eager for it to end, I'm looking forward to it ending. I'm not looking forward to the next one.”
When asked to clarify if he meant the next race in Qatar, Hamilton responded: "Next season.”
Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 that he felt “terrible” after the race, adding “it’s been the worst season ever and no matter how much I try, it just keeps getting worse.”
The 40-year-old Briton was equally downcast when he spoke to written media, insisting he took “zero” satisfaction from his fightback drive from P19 into the points.
Hamilton said due to his performances Ferrari’s hopes of claiming second place in the constructors’ championship are “done”.
He added he has had “22 bad weekends” and responded “I don’t know” when asked if the winter would provide him the chance to reset.
Ferrari boss downplays Hamilton remarks
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur moved to downplay Hamilton’s comments, pointing to them being made in the heat of the moment.
"Let's calm down. To jump out of the car and to make the first comment it's always a bit too much and let's discuss after the debrief," Vasseur said.
"Obviously it's been tough for Lewis the last couple of weekends and he said it's been hard.
"I can understand the reaction from Lewis just after the race, but we just have to calm down to discuss and to be focused on the next two [races], because the next two we will be back.
"And keep in mind also that Lewis was there in FP1, in FP2 the pace was good, and it means that we have to build up the weekend like this and for sure to start from P20 is not the best way to have a good result.”
The result leaves Hamilton sixth in the championship and 73 points behind teammate Charles Leclerc, who is fifth.
Hamilton has just two races to finish inside the top three to avoid his first F1 season without scoring a podium.
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