Lewis Hamilton has spent the last five years seemingly in search of one thing: a historic eighth Formula 1 World Championship. And yet, after losing the 2021 title to Max Verstappen in dramatic and controversial fashion, the British driver has never been further from his goal.
Four Verstappen-dominated years have followed, while Hamilton has stayed driving a turbulent Mercedes car alongside a competitive teammate in George Russell. The seven-time champion has occasionally picked up a race win but ultimately failed to reach the heights of his former success. Intent on winning the elusive eighth title, Hamilton left Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025, looking to F1’s most successful team to deliver him a winning car. Unfortunately for both parties, the partnership has yet to bear fruit, resulting in no higher than a fourth-place finish in full-length races.
If this had happened the year before, we might have already said goodbye to the sport’s most successful driver, but the upcoming season poses an opportunity for Hamilton and Ferrari. With new regulations, every team goes back to square one — the last major design overhaul came in 2022, practically turning the Mercedes from a rocket ship into a tractor, so really anything is possible. If Ferrari can get it right from the get-go, they can hope to capitalise on an unpredictable season.
Then again, a winning car comes with complications, particularly for the Scuderia: do you favour a driver? Red Bull clearly favour Verstappen over whichever poor soul drives alongside him, whereas McLaren are almost allergic to picking between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri (almost). Hamilton’s teammate unfortunately happens to be Ferrari’s golden boy Charles Leclerc, affectionately known in Italy as Il Predestinato (The Predestined). Ferrari have put everything behind Leclerc, and if they do hit the ground running in 2026, he’s done plenty to be the team’s first driver.
So where does that leave Lewis? With an uphill climb, it seems. He’s 41 now, junior only to the tireless Fernando Alonso. If he were to somehow win, he’d jump to third on the list of oldest champions in F1 history. Given the undeniably low probability of success, you’d likely wonder why Hamilton is still seeking his eighth. Verstappen has said recently that he is unbothered by breaking records, and could happily retire in a few years — is Hamilton just dampening his legacy at this point? Had Abu Dhabi 2021 gone the other way, he may well have retired then and there. If 2026 doesn’t at least throw him back into the title fight, it’s time he cashed in his chips.
“FIA F1 Imola 2025 No. 44 Hamilton (5)” by Jen_ross83 is licensed under CC BY 4.0.