Lewis Hamilton's Blunt Response After His Biggest Rival Gives Retirement Verdict

Lewis Hamilton has responded to Nico Rosberg's comments about F1 retirement following the conclusion of his debut season with Ferrari.

Lando Norris secured his maiden F1 title in Abu Dhabi after a third place confirmed he ended 2025 two points ahead of former reigning champion Max Verstappen.

Norris started in second place, but his day was made more difficult when McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri overtook him on lap one, leaving him vulnerable to the charging Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc's Ferrari was the only threat to Norris' title, but the machinery under the Monegasque meant he could never truly fight for the podium despite keeping the Brit on his toes.

The second Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton came home in eighth after starting from 16th due to a third consecutive Q1 knockout for the 40-year-old.

Hamilton has labelled his first season at the Scuderia the 'worst' of his career, with the former Mercedes star failing to score a single podium for the first time in his career, while his teammate scored seven.

Following his disastrous qualifying on Saturday, Hamilton's former teammate and lifelong rival Nico Rosberg admitted his form at Ferrari had put a 'little scratch on his legacy.'

Rosberg also pleaded with Hamilton not to retire, he told Sky F1: "You can’t retire now. I mean, who are they going to replace him with?

“And that’s a bit of a loss of face, also, because, taking on this big project and then 12 months in, just because it’s difficult, just retire. That doesn’t work."

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix- (credit: getty)

Lewis Hamilton responds to Nico Rosberg's 'retirement plea'

Rosberg's comments on his former teammate quickly took the internet by storm, and in his post-race media session, Hamilton was asked to respond to the German.

“I wouldn’t say anything to them,” he said of pundits giving him advice.

He added: “None of them have done what I’ve done.”

Hamilton also revealed his plans for the winter break, and how he plans to completely disconnect from the outside world after such a disappointing season.

“At the moment, I’m only looking forward to the break,” he told media.

“And just to disconnect or not speak to anyone. No one will be able to get hold of me this winter.

“I won’t have my phone with me. I’m looking forward to a complete unplug from the matrix. I’ve generally always had it [his phone] around, but this time, it’s going in the freaking bin." he added.