F1 legend Lewis Hamilton broken and lost as he admits Ferrari failure

Lewis Hamilton looking downcast at the Qatar Grand Prix — Photo: © IMAGO

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton broken and lost as he admits Ferrari failure

The final qualifying session of the year saw Hamilton miss out on Q2

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 6 December 2025 16:58

Lewis Hamilton's final post-qualifying interview of 2025 was arguably his most downbeat interview yet, after a poor performance at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Hamilton qualified in P16, knocked out in Q1 for the third consecutive race weekend, as his chances of claiming a grand prix podium before the end of the season diminished almost entirely.

Following the news that he had been knocked out of Q1, Hamilton said to race engineer Riccardo Adami on team radio: "Every time, mate, I'm so sorry."

Article continues under video

The 40-year-old Brit has really struggled since joining Ferrari in January, and the seven-time world champion is all the way down in sixth in the drivers' championship.

Following qualifying, Hamilton took to the media pen to be interviewed by Sky Sports F1's Rachel Brookes, and he looked utterly dejected.

Hamilton said: "We made lots of changes to the car and the car felt great today." Brookes then followed that up with a question about his radio message: "So when you said on the radio 'the same thing again', were you referring to your performance in qualifying?"

Hamilton nodded his head, before Brookes said: "And you don't know why, you just can't find it at the moment, that skill you've been known for."

Hamilton nodded his head once again, before the interview came to an abrupt end.

How does Hamilton bounce back from this?

Hamilton's interviews throughout the 2025 season have often been quite heartbreaking to watch, with the seven-time champion seemingly having no confidence in his own ability anymore.

He recently said that he was looking forward to the 2025 season coming to an end, but that he was not necessarily looking forward to the 2026 season, which will be the final year of his current Ferrari contract.

But 2026 does offer a completely new generation of cars with wholesale regulation changes sweeping into the sport, and those cars could be better suited to his talents.

The current car designs introduced in 2022 have only seen Hamilton claim two race wins in four full seasons.

Hamilton could also be offered hope by the fact that the 2026 changes could see a complete shake up in the competitive order of the teams, and that could see Ferrari challenging higher up the grid.

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Abu Dhabi Grand Prix