"Lewis Hamilton isn't finished": Former Ferrari boss tries to knock 'common sense' into the team's driver decisions

Former Ferrari F1 team principal Maurizio Arrivabene has lent support to Lewis Hamilton after his nightmare first season with the Scuderia. He emphasized that the seven-time champion is still competitive, but the fault lies in the team's expectations.

Hamilton left Mercedes for Ferrari after 2024, hoping to have a better chance of winning a record eighth F1 title. The Italian team indeed seemed like the better option, with both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz fighting for race wins in the ground-effect era, while Mercedes rarely was.

Unfortunately, the Silver Arrows emerged as the better team this year, while the Scuderia fell slightly behind in the pecking order. Moreover, with the Frederic Vasseur-led team choosing not to upgrade its 2025 car after April and focus on the new 2026 regulations, their performance dipped.

In a recent interview with Quotidiano Sportivo, Maurizio Arrivabene highlighted that Ferrari has failed Lewis Hamilton by not providing him with a competitive car. When asked if he would've hired the Briton if he were still Ferrari boss, Arrivabene said:

"Here we need to develop a complex reasoning. Let me explain: for me, Lewis isn't finished. He's still competitive. But... You only hire someone like Hamilton if you can give him a competitive car. He needs the right equipment to perform at his best. If you don't have it, don't hire him. It's not a criticism, it's common sense."

Lewis Hamilton finished the 2025 F1 season sixth in the drivers' standings, 86 points behind teammate Charles Leclerc in fifth. It was the first season in his 19-year F1 career that he failed to secure a single podium.

Romain Grosjean predicts 2026 could be Lewis Hamilton's last year in F1

The Ferrari SF25 of Lewis Hamilton at the Formula 1 Testing in Abu Dhabi - Source: Getty

Former Haas F1 driver Romain Grosjean feels that 2026 could be the last year that Lewis Hamilton races in the sport. The seven-time champion was highly critical of Ferrari's performance on multiple occasions this season, and the negative feelings culminated in a tipping point towards the end of the season.

After the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP, where Hamilton gained eight places from P16 to finish in P8, he still sounded downbeat. The Briton stated that he would 'completely unplug from the matrix' in the offseason and throw his phone in the bin.

Romain Grosjean addressed the uncertainty around Lewis Hamilton's future in F1 beyond this season, saying (via GPBlog) :

"You never know. Nico Rosberg, five days after becoming world champion, walked away from Formula 1. It was a shock. Is Lewis going to walk away? I don't think so. I think he has pride and competitiveness; he wants to do well and cannot finish a season like he just did. My guess is he's going to be here in 2026, but 2026 could be one of his last."

Though Hamilton termed the 2025 season with Ferrari a 'nightmare', he shared an uplifting message for his squad after the post-season test at the Yas Marina Circuit to end the season on a positive note.