Lewis Hamilton’s exasperation simmered beneath the neon blaze of Las Vegas as the seven-time champion castigated Ferrari’s strategic misfires. After suffering the worst qualifying result of his career—dead last on merit—he entered the race expecting damage limitation, only to find sporadic brilliance undermined by decisions he believed sabotaged a stronger outcome. His frustration was palpable, sharpened by the sense that the car had shown real promise earlier in the weekend before everything unravelled.
Despite starting from 20th, Hamilton carved through the field with the precision and composure that defined his peak years, ultimately securing a solitary point for 10th. That sliver of reward soon swelled to eighth after the disqualifications of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, yet even the upgraded result did little to soothe his irritation. Ferrari’s newest marquee signing is enduring a bruising debut season—outqualified and outraced heavily by Charles Leclerc—and staring down the bleak possibility of his first podium-less campaign.
His discontent spilled over moments after the chequered flag. Hamilton demanded answers over team radio, openly questioning why drivers he had previously outrun finished far ahead following what he perceived as a mistimed pit sequence. He was adamant the team pulled him off the hard tyres too early, forcing an overlong run on the mediums that left his race deteriorating rather than building toward a crescendo. The sharpness in his tone betrayed his belief that Ferrari had once again blunted his efforts.
The tension only deepened when he faced the media. Describing the result as “terrible,” Hamilton admitted he could take no positives from the outing. The weight of the season’s relentless disappointments showed as he declared he was eager for the year to simply end. When pressed on whether he dreaded the next round in Qatar, he clarified the sting lay in a broader sense of disillusionment—he meant next season, not merely the next race.
Hamilton now stands at a crossroads: a superstar wrestling with the most anaemic campaign of his storied career while donning Ferrari red for the first time. His voice on the radio and in interviews carried the sound of a champion confronting the brutal gap between expectation and reality, and the uneasy recognition that Maranello’s promised resurgence remains painfully out of reach.
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