Lewis Hamilton has delivered a brutally honest verdict on his debut season with Ferrari, describing it as a veritable “nightmare” after another miserable race weekend ended in retirement at Interlagos.
The seven-time world champion’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix unravelled almost immediately — marred by collisions, penalties, and ultimately, defeat. What began as another chance to steady the ship for Ferrari quickly turned into one more painful chapter in a season Hamilton admits has tested him to the limit.
The seven-time world champion’s race was effectively over before it began. Contact with Carlos Sainz’s Williams on the opening lap dropped him to the back, and a later tangle with Franco Colapinto’s Alpine ripped off his front wing, forcing an early pit stop on the Briton and earning him a five-second time penalty.
Despite soldiering on for several laps, Ferrari eventually called Hamilton into the pits on lap 38 after it became clear his car had sustained floor damage. The retirement capped off a miserable weekend in which Hamilton never looked competitive.
“This is a nightmare, I’ve been living it for a while,” the F1 veteran confessed to Sky Sports F1 after his race concluded.
“The flip between the dream of driving for this amazing team and then the nightmare of results that we’ve had, the ups and downs – it’s challenging."
©Ferrari
“But tomorrow I’ll get back up, I’ll keep training, I’ll keep working with the team," he said. "I really wanted to get them good points this weekend but I’ll come back as strong as I can in the next race and try and recover it.”
Glimmers of hope amid Ferrari’s struggles
Ferrari’s woes were compounded by Charles Leclerc’s early exit, the Monegasque eliminated on lap six after being hit by Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes in a chaotic Turn 1 clash that also involved Oscar Piastri.
Until that point, Leclerc had shown genuine promise, qualifying third and running competitively before disaster struck. For Hamilton, that brief flash of pace served as a reminder that Ferrari’s problems, while serious, may not be permanent.
“It would be wrong to say that there are no positives at all,” he told “If you look at Charles’ performance in qualifying, it shows that the car does have some pace in it.
“But we are just really having to fight through those hardships at the moment. I have to believe that these hardships lead to… I believe there is something extraordinary up ahead in my life and in my destiny.
“I truly still believe in this team and what we can achieve together. I just have to keep pushing and keep giving them everything I can.”
A Dream Season Gone Sour
When Hamilton’s move to Ferrari was announced, it was heralded as a fairytale partnership between Formula 1’s most iconic driver and its most storied team. But nine months into their first campaign together, the dream has soured.
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Hamilton remains without a podium finish for Ferrari, and the team’s inconsistency has left both cars struggling to keep pace with McLaren, Mercedes, and now Red Bull in the Constructors’ fight.
The Interlagos weekend felt like a symbolic low point for Hamilton – a race full of frustration, unforced errors, and lost opportunity. Yet amid the gloom, his words carried a trace of defiance. The 40-year-old isn’t done fighting – even if, for now, the battle feels endless.
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