The 2025 Formula 1 season was meant to be a dream come true for the British driver, who grew up aspiring to race for Ferrari. Instead, his debut campaign in red has been one of the toughest years of his career. Since leaving Mercedes-AMG Petronas at the start of 2025, Hamilton has endured a series of disappointing results and has failed to achieve milestones that once seemed routine for him.
Lewis Hamilton’s Worst Start to a Formula 1 Season
For the first time in his 19-year career, Lewis Hamilton has failed to reach the podium in the opening 14 rounds of the season. Under the current points system, introduced in 2010, this represents his weakest campaign to date. The Briton has scored fewer points than in any comparable stretch of his career, surpassing even his difficult 2012 season with McLaren, when he still managed multiple wins and podiums.
Statistically, Hamilton’s numbers highlight just how stark the decline has been. At Mercedes, he secured 84 of his record 105 race wins, along with 78 pole positions and more than 150 podiums. In contrast, his best result so far as a Ferrari driver has only been fourth place at Imola, Austria, and Silverstone—hardly the success Ferrari had hoped for when securing his signature.
Bernie Ecclestone Warns of a Legacy at Risk
Ecclestone has openly questioned whether Hamilton’s reputation can withstand another season of poor results. He argued that if Hamilton continues into 2026 without major improvement, fans may begin to overlook his past achievements. Ecclestone’s view is that Lewis Hamilton should step aside on his own terms, highlighting that retiring with dignity would be far better than allowing his career to end in decline.
The former F1 boss has even gone so far as to suggest that Ferrari may be better served by investing in younger talent such as Gabriel Bortoleto, who has impressed in recent races. Ecclestone hinted that Ferrari’s faith in Hamilton is proving costly, especially when his teammate Charles Leclerc is currently outperforming him by a significant margin—holding 42 more points and ranking ahead in the championship standings.
Contract Tensions and Ferrari’s Failed Expectations
Hamilton’s lucrative contract with Ferrari, worth an estimated £39 million annually, runs through to the end of the 2026 season, with an option for 2027. This long-term commitment was crucial in persuading Hamilton to leave Mercedes, particularly as Formula 1 prepares for the major regulation changes in 2026. However, the gamble has yet to pay off.
In early 2025, Lewis Hamilton suggested Ferrari already had all the tools necessary to fight for a championship. That optimism has since evaporated, with the driver reportedly presenting the team with detailed feedback on the shortcomings he believes must be addressed. Even team principal Frédéric Vasseur, who began the season confident that the Briton and his Maranello teammate could challenge McLaren for the constructors’ crown, has seen those hopes collapse. Ferrari now trails McLaren by nearly 300 points, a gap that underlines the scale of their struggles.
Ecclestone Labels Ferrari’s Faith in Hamilton “Embarrassing”
Bernie Ecclestone did not hide his disappointment with how Ferrari managed Hamilton’s arrival. In his opinion, the Scuderia’s belief that the veteran driver could immediately deliver results was misguided and has left both sides facing embarrassment. He suggested that the initial hype around Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari has only made the current underperformance more painful, especially given the enormous expectations surrounding the move.
According to Bernie Ecclestone, the biggest humiliation lies not only in Lewis Hamilton’s lack of results but also in Ferrari’s miscalculation of what he could realistically achieve in his debut year. While the Briton still possesses the talent that once made him the dominant force in Formula 1, the combination with Ferrari has so far failed to yield the success both parties had envisioned.
A Career at a Crossroads
With his future in Formula 1 increasingly uncertain, Hamilton faces one of the most difficult decisions of his career. Continuing at Ferrari could risk eroding the legacy he built with Mercedes, where he equaled Michael Schumacher’s record of seven world championships. Retiring at the end of 2025, however, would mean stepping away without achieving the fairytale ending he once hoped for in Maranello red.
For Bernie Ecclestone, the choice is clear: Lewis Hamilton should bow out while still being remembered as one of the sport’s greatest drivers, rather than risk fading away during Ferrari’s ongoing struggles. Whether Hamilton agrees with that assessment remains to be seen, but the debate over his future is certain to dominate the narrative as the 2025 season draws to a close.
Leave a Reply