PARIS – Lewis Hamilton's dream move to Ferrari turned into a nightmare in his first season.
The 40-year-old British driver's quest to win a record eighth Formula 1 title with his new team failed, with Hamilton not even making the podium in the Grand Prix race.
The situation became so unpleasant that at one point Hamilton suggested that Ferrari replace him with another driver.
Australian driver Jack Brabham was 40 years old when he won the Formula One title in 1966, but Hamilton failed to repeat the feat.
Hamilton won the short sprint race in China in March but has not finished higher than fourth in 24 major Formula One races. He missed out on pole position and finished a disappointing sixth in the Formula One standings, a significant 86 points behind teammate Charles Leclerc in fifth.
Overall, the former Mercedes star has won just two Formula 1 races in the last four seasons.
His frustration was sometimes expressed in brief radio conversations during this campaign with Ferrari racing engineer Riccardo Adami. Hamilton sarcastically advised him to “take a tea break” during the Miami Grand Prix in May.
“I'm useless, absolutely useless,” Hamilton told British broadcaster Sky Sports after a disappointing qualifying session at the Hungarian Grand Prix in early August. “The team has no problems. You saw Leclerc on pole. So they will probably have to change drivers.”
A few weeks later, he sounded more optimistic.
“I just really want to focus on having that fun again,” Hamilton said. “I joined the team I always dreamed of playing for.”
But Hamilton's season deteriorated further. He made unusual mistakes for a driver who holds FI records of 105 wins and 104 pole positions.
He dropped out of Q1, the first round of qualifying, in the final three races of the season and finished outside the top 10 in four straight races.
He also crashed in third practice at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last weekend after driver error, losing control of the rear of the car and sliding into a barrier.
“I don’t have words to describe the feeling I have inside,” Hamilton said Saturday after the crash. “An unbearable amount of anger and rage.”
Hamilton still had problems with qualifying.
In July, he qualified 16th for the Belgian Grand Prix after his best lap time was discarded due to going off track. The day before he was 18th in qualifying for the sprint race after spinning.
However, earlier in the week, Hamilton spoke with determination and authority. He said he had held “critical” talks with Ferrari executives to demand improvements.
“I sat with John (Elkann, Ferrari president), Benedetto (Vigna, CEO) and Fred (Frederick Vasseur, team principal) in several meetings,” Hamilton said at Spa-Francorchamps.
Hamilton even prepared a “full document for the team” during the mid-season break, detailing “the structural changes we need to make” and “the problems I'm having with this car.”
All this changed little on the track.
Hamilton finished seventh at Spa, 12th in Hungary and did not finish the next race in the Netherlands.
Brazil had another DNF last month, followed by eighth, 12th and eighth place finishes to end the season on a low.
Hamilton called the weekend in Sao Paulo a “nightmare” and Leclerc was “not happy” with his “very slow” car.
Leclerc also hasn't won a race this season. But the Monaco driver beat Hamilton 7-0 to take the podium and remain firmly in the standings.
After the Brazilian Grand Prix, a concerned Elkann advised both drivers to “focus on driving and talk less.”
Hamilton recorded his worst qualifying result at his next Grand Prix, his last in Las Vegas.
“I feel terrible. Terrible,” Hamilton said.
After the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Briton Lando Norris won his first Formula 1 title, Hamilton vowed to fight on.
“It’s been a tough season, but the kindness and hard work of everyone at Ferrari means a lot to me,” Hamilton said. “I support the team and know that better times are ahead of us.”
