Dec.7 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton’s season from hell hit a new and final low in Abu Dhabi – but the seven-time world champion insists he is not about to walk away from Formula 1.
Hamilton crashed in FP3, triggering visible frustration among Ferrari mechanics, and then slumped to a third consecutive Q1 exit. He cut an unmistakably devastated figure.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he told Sky Italia.
“There’s no point in talking about it, I don’t want to explain myself. I feel absolutely no happiness, I’m very angry. I have no words to express my feelings, just a lot of anger.
“The team deserved better, that’s for sure.”
The horror run has intensified paddock rumours about an immediate retirement – whispers that have been bubbling all season and gaining traction amid Hamilton’s spiralling form.
Ralf Schumacher then poured more fuel on the fire on Sky Deutschland on Saturday, again urging Ferrari to consider replacing Hamilton with Oliver Bearman for the new 2026 era.
“Lewis needs to take a good look at himself – he’s got no one else to be angry with,” he said.
“He has to face up to this situation. The season ends for him just as it has been all along. It’s a bad situation for him.”
Hamilton’s former teammate Nico Rosberg also sees a driver trapped in a mental loop.
“When you’re already in a situation where you can’t cope, you want to overdrive the car – and then it only gets worse,” Rosberg said. “That’s the typical negative spiral he’s in.”
Hamilton fanned rumours further by refusing to look ahead to 2026 when asked on Saturday: “Currently, I’m not looking that far into the future.”
But later he clarified sharply when asked directly about the new retirement rumours: “That’s completely out of the question. It’s not even a topic of discussion.”
As for what triggered the Abu Dhabi collapse – at a circuit where he has won five times – Hamilton admitted that surrendering his car to Arthur Leclerc in FP1 didn’t help.
“That obviously wasn’t helpful, but it’s the same for everyone,” he said.