Lewis Hamilton says he will join Ferrari despite knowing a difficult year lies ahead as he aims for his team’s first podium at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Ferrari was in contention for the constructors’ championship last season, but this year they have taken a step back compared to their rivals and are yet to win with two races remaining. Hamilton won the sprint and finished in the top three, but has yet to finish on the podium in a Grand Prix. But despite his frustration with how 2025 unfolds, he says he’ll go through it all again.
“First of all, it’s a hypothetical question so I won’t really go into it, but I would definitely (still move from Mercedes),” Hamilton said. “I don’t regret my decision to join the team. I know it takes time to build and grow within the organization, and I expected that. So, yeah.”
“The most special thing about this brand and the people who work for it is the passion, the tifosi traveling the world, and the amazing support we get.
“I think it probably becomes even more difficult when you have a harder, more difficult weekend because you can go back to the factory and see how passionate each person is, how dedicated they are, how hard they work. And you see that the results don’t reflect and they don’t reward you. So you feel it even more. It’s a big emotional bubble and that’s invaluable.”
After a disappointing Las Vegas Grand Prix, Hamilton described this year as his worst season ever and suggested he was not looking forward to 2026, but he downplayed those comments in Qatar.
“I would probably be surprised at this stage if other drivers are excited about next year at the end of the season because usually at the end of the season you don’t have a lot of energy. You’re looking forward to spending time with your family and stuff like that,” he said.
“It’s just in the midst of frustration. There’s often a lot of frustration at the end of a race, especially when things don’t go well, so I’m excited to see what the team builds next year and continue to build it with them.”
“I certainly think we have a lot of work to do. We analyzed the season over the winter and there are a lot of things we have to improve on as a team, but I don’t think anyone in the team is under any illusions that everyone has to play a role and I believe we can do that. So we’re hoping to execute and implement those changes in hopes of being a better package for next year.”
