Lewis Hamilton: “Who wins the title? Being the hunter is easier than being the prey”. Lewis Hamilton reflects on Ferrari’s difficult 2025 season.

The seven-time Formula 1 world champion prepares to end an extremely difficult 2025 season, one that has offered far fewer rewards than hoped for during his first year with Ferrari.

What the Ferrari driver said

Lewis Hamilton enters the final round of the championship with one last chance to avoid finishing the season without a single Grand Prix podium. His first year as a Ferrari driver has been remarkably disappointing, and in light of the SF-25’s lack of competitiveness, the seven-time world champion supported team principal Frederic Vasseur’s decision to halt development on the 2025 car early.

“We had already accounted for the possibility of struggling at the end of the season, but it’s going worse than expected,” Lewis Hamilton explained. “I was actually one of the people who pushed Fred Vasseur to stop development of the SF-25 early because we simply couldn’t afford to fall behind on the 2026 car, especially since we were not in a position to fight for the championship.”

The Ferrari driver did not make any predictions regarding who will win the title between Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. “Being the hunter is always easier than being the prey because you have a reference point and nothing to lose.” Lewis Hamilton’s hope for 2026 is to finally have a completely different car in his hands, far removed from this generation of machinery that has caused him so much difficulty since 2022.

“This generation of cars has been the worst I have ever driven,” Lewis Hamilton stated. “I am praying for things to improve in 2026.” – the British driver concluded ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, which is set to take place at the Yas Marina Circuit, the 5.281 km motorsport racing track situated on Yas Island.

After a season spent largely outside the top ten and with the SF-25 never truly competitive, Lewis Hamilton’s honest assessment sums up a painful 2025 – and underlines exactly why Maranello is already all-in on giving its legendary new signing a car worthy of an eighth title next year.