Lewis Hamilton Believed to Have Delivered 'Farewell Speech' to Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton may have delivered his 'farewell speech' to Ferrari after a nightmare end to the 2025 season, according to a former Formula 1 driver.

Hamilton ended his debut season with Ferrari in sixth place in the Drivers' Championship, but with only 156 points compared to team-mate Charles Leclerc's 242.

He lost the qualifying head-to-head battle 19-5 to Leclerc, with the Monegasque driver also comfortably ahead by 18-3 in races.

Hamilton did capture Ferrari's only win of 2025, in the China sprint race, but neither Ferrari driver was regularly able to challenge frontrunners McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The Italian team therefore finished in fourth place in the Constructors' Championship, down from second last season.

At the penultimate race of 2025 in Qatar, the Scuderia were at times the slowest car on pure pace, with Hamilton revealing that Pierre Gasly - whose Alpine team finished in last place in the championship - described his Ferrari car as 'so bad'.

The seven-time world champion ended the season with three consecutive Q1 exits, though climbed up to eighth place in Abu Dhabi after a series of overtakes and was running as high as sixth at one stage.

He gave a series of short answers in interviews and, after the Las Vegas Grand Prix, claimed he was 'not looking forward to 2026' - though he later rowed back on that remark.

In Abu Dhabi, he said he was feeling 'an unbearable amount of anger and rage' after qualifying 16th.

It quickly became clear in 2025 that 2026 - with a raft of new regulations being introduced - was going to be Ferrari's better chance of winning a championship.

At the season opener in Australia, engineers discovered that the car's floor was running too close to the track, and they had to raise the ride height to avoid the risk of disqualification.

It is believed that this discovery had a knock-on effect for the rest of the season, with both Leclerc and Hamilton regularly being told to lift-and-coast during races to prevent plank wear.

The Scuderia will have been working tirelessly to ensure the problem is fixed in time for 2026, which may be Hamilton's final chance at securing a record-breaking eighth Drivers' Championship.

Still, former F1 driver Johnny Herbert believes that Hamilton's downbeat comments in the media across recent races have cast doubt over his Ferrari future.

Speaking to NewBettingSites, he said: "I could see Lewis Hamilton's words as a farewell speech.

"You've got to be honest to yourself. And if you do honestly feel that you have no idea of what you need to do to get out of the doldrums and get around the problem, then why carry on?

"He was always able to find a way, was always in the fight, always there. He had the will and the ability. Now he doesn't.

"I could see him choosing to say, 'Actually, that's it. I've had one of the best careers of any driver in F1 and I can leave a happy chap. Maybe he has a sit down with Anthony [father] and his mum to discuss where he is at.

"Some of his interviews in the pen, where he's quite literally not answering any questions at all, it's just in this horrible dark place. It's a place I've never seen him in before."

Fortunately, the man himself has no desire to end his two-year Ferrari contract early.

Hamilton has said he will likely change the make-up of his inner circle next season to challenge at the top end of the field, and speaking ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, stated: "I surprised myself with the resilience I demonstrated. If I can get through a season like this, there's nothing else I can't face.

"I take my passion and put it into the next championship to give my absolute best."