Former F1 driver Derek Daly has boldly claimed that Lewis Hamilton won’t win another F1 championship in his career. Though Daly branded the seven-time F1 champion as being better than Michael Schumacher, he foresaw no improvement in the Ferrari driver’s performance in 2026 or beyond.
Hamilton had a terrible first season with the Scuderia in 2025 – the worst of his F1 career. He scored no podiums in the season for the first time in his 17-year career. Moreover, teammate Charles Leclerc out-qualified him in 19 of 24 races and also earned seven podiums.
Lewis Hamilton’s struggles reached a peak towards the end of the season. The Briton suffered three consecutive Q1 knockouts in Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi. Derek Daly touched upon these failures and also stated that it hurt him to see Hamilton seem like a different person in interviews, sounding morose and defeated.
“That’s sad to see for a seven-time world champion, but this isn’t going to improve,” Daly told RacingNews365. “Hamilton isn’t going to win another world title. He’s also not going to win a series of races against Leclerc. The marketing exercise is over now. I would love it if Hamilton retires, and we are spared any more Q1 eliminations during qualifying, because that’s going to happen again.”
Daly reasoned that Hamilton’s age wouldn’t let him perform like in his younger days. Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert also shared a similar stance recently on the Stay on Track podcast, stating that Hamilton has seemingly lost his drive compared to Fernando Alonso, who at 45, is able to “squeeze that extra something” even from a slow Aston Martin car.
Lewis Hamilton declares “time for change is now” ahead of 2026 F1 season with Ferrari
In his final interviews of the 2025 season in Abu Dhabi, Lewis Hamilton emphasized he would ‘throw his phone in the bin’ and completely disconnect from F1 in the winter break. He spent a good chunk of the offseason in New York, from where he shared clips of his training runs across the city.
In the first week of January, the seven-time champion shared an inspiring message in an Instagram post with his outlook for 2026. He described 2025 as a “draining year” and an excerpt from the caption read:
“I’m conscious that we’re entering the Year of the Horse and leaving behind the Year of the Snake. The time for change is now. Starting new routines, leaving behind unwanted patterns and working on growth. Let go of things that don’t serve you. This can take time, there will be things you can’t get rid of immediately, but it starts with the first step.”
Emphasizing the importance of staying true to oneself and one’s life goals, Hamilton added:
“Even though the world can seem like a mess, I hope that you’re staying focused on living life to the fullest. Be you and never forget who you are. I learnt that from many of you who told me this in 2025, and I’ll never forget again! Your support means the world to me, and I’m here for you too. You are never alone. Let’s take it one day at a time, one step at a time.”
2026 could be Lewis Hamilton’s last year in F1 if Ferrari sees no improvement in performance. Recent signs don’t point towards a positive turning, with a report from Autoracer claiming that there is a ‘chaotic situation’ within the team regarding its 2026 preparation.
Read More:
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Ferrari in ‘Chaotic Situation’ as 2026 F1 Plans Face Unexpected Delay: Report
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