“I’m useless, absolutely useless. (…) The team (…) probably need to change driver.” (…) Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s post-qualifying words with Sky, alongside his “I drove terribly” comment to F1 TV, have accelerated the rumours of a 2025 retirement, especially after another poor result (12th) in Sunday’s race. And top journalist Antonio Lobato, who has been narrating Formula 1 in Spain for almost two decades (2004-15, 2018-present), has recently declared that this “could happen”.
In a video posted on news outlet Soymotor, the Asturian journalist theorized about a near F1 future without the seven-time world-champion: “Imagine Hamilton, after this year, says ‘goodbye’. (…) This could happen, he could think “yes, yes, I am useless, I don’t want to continue with this, I don’t want to keep suffering’”.
Despite an early success with a win in the Chinese GP sprint, Lewis Hamilton has struggled this season. As of Sunday, the Brit stands more than 40 points behind team-mate Charles Leclerc, and the Monegasque has not been the only team-mate that has outpaced him in the last few years. George Russell has proved more than competitive despite the odds, outperforming Hamilton in two of his three seasons together at Mercedes.
Lobato also made a prediction about the future of another multiple world-champion depending on Hamilton and/or Ferrari’s decision:
“The other option is that [Hamilton] stays for 2026, but Ferrari says ‘Verstappen is free to go’, and then, Toto [Wolff] has a problem because, depending on how the Mercedes performs next year and how Ferrari performs, Verstappen could make a choice.”
The Dutchman recently confirmed to F1 that he is not leaving to Mercedes despite the rumours: “For me it’s always been quite clear that I was staying anyway.” However, his commitment to Red Bull seems to not be confirmed beyond the first season of the new regulations, and the performance of the Austrian team in 2026 could change his destiny. It has been widely reported, including by beIN’s Júlia Cabral, that the Belgian-born driver has a performance-based clause allowing him to leave every year.
Whether Hamilton chooses fulfill his 2027 contract with Ferrari or not, it seems like the silly season rumours for that season are already underway.
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