Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari driver says he has ‘so many notes’ and requires enchancment for 2026 System 1 season

Lewis Hamilton has revealed he has “so many notes” for his Ferrari group to “improve on” after a dismal weekend on the Qatar Grand Prix.

Hamilton was knocked out within the first a part of Dash Qualifying on Friday and Qualifying on Saturday earlier than claiming twelfth within the Grand Prix – his joint-worst ending place of the season.

The seven-time world champion acknowledged the automobile felt like a “fight like you couldn’t believe” as he seems set to finish his first marketing campaign in purple with out a podium, having completed a minimum of one race within the high three yearly since becoming a member of the game in 2007.

“It definitely has been the most challenging year both in and out of the car. I’ve got so many notes in terms of things we need to improve on,” Hamilton advised Sky Sports activities F1.

“Time will inform whether or not or not we act on these issues and we maintain maintain of the issues which might be good and alter the issues that aren’t – and there is loads of these.

“There’s literally no reason why we couldn’t fix those if we just put those into action. I’m hopeful for us making progress.”

Hamilton stated following November’s Las Vegas Grand Prix that he was “not looking forward” to subsequent 12 months regardless of new rules offering a chance for groups to maneuver ahead within the pecking order.

Crew principal Frederic Vasseur stated: “This comes 10 minutes after a difficult race and I perfectly understand the frustration.

“When he says he is ‘not centered on 2026’ it is as a result of he is centered on his personal race which was a tricky one. This frustration, we’ve got to take the optimistic from it. We take it as a optimistic response. We’ve to enhance, that is clear.”

Vasseur admits he ‘underestimated’ psychological harm of stopping improvement

Ferrari stopped improvement on this 12 months’s automobile in April after they realised any championship hopes had been unlikely after McLaren’s early dominance.

The group and drivers agreed to the choice however Vasseur admits he “underestimated” the psychological affect it will have on Ferrari.

“When you still have 20 races to go, or 18 races to go, and you know that you won’t bring any aero development, it’s quite tough to manage psychologically,” stated Vasseur.

“But overall, we continued to push. We brought some mechanical upgrades, and we are trying to do a better job operationally, and this is the DNA of our sport. We have to accept this. It was a call, and I’m still confident with the call that we made.”

Charles Leclerc snuck into SQ3 and Q3 in Qatar then completed eighth within the race after “pushing like hell” since Friday observe in line with Vasseur, who thinks the observe format and situations didn’t swimsuit Ferrari.

“In Qatar, keep in mind that we have all the same cars as two weeks ago, it means that it’s more related to the track and the conditions than something else [for the lack of pace],” he defined.

“In case you examine to Sao Paulo after we had been in good condition and this weekend, it is a matter of setup. It implies that it is a part of the sport, a part of the lifetime of the group, that typically you might be struggling a bit extra to search out the best window.

“I think the window is quite narrow, and the fact that the field is much tighter – you lose two or three tenths, you are at the back. It’s like this from mid-season, and it will be like this also in Abu Dhabi.

“If we do not do job, it was true for Max in Sao Paulo, which you can be out in Q1 for a setup concern.”

The 2025 F1 season concludes with the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday. Stream Sky Sports activities with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime