2026 could be ‘end of Hamilton’s career’ – Petrov
Nov.25 (GMM) Ferrari is facing renewed pressure after another bleak weekend and increasingly downbeat comments from Lewis Hamilton, amid reports that the marque has abandoned development of the planned F44 sports car.
The story was reported by well-connected Italian journalist Giorgio Terruzzi, adding to what has become a turbulent period at Maranello after chairman John Elkann publicly scolded Hamilton to “talk less”.
Hamilton qualified last in Las Vegas, recovered to finish tenth on the road – eighth after the McLaren disqualifications – but said the result offered no comfort.
“It’s a terrible result, and I can’t take anything positive from it,” he told reporters. “I’ll be glad when it’s over, I’m looking forward to the end. And I’m not looking forward to what comes next.”
Asked if he meant the next race, Hamilton replied: “The next season.”
He insisted he is not considering retirement. “No, no,” he said.
But: “Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, they did.”
Speaking to Sky Italia, the seven-time world champion admitted: “A wish for the last two races? I’m sure I’ve run out of wishes.”
He said the previous 22 grands prix had been “terrible”, asking why the next two would suddenly be better.
Terruzzi also claims Charles Leclerc is privately evaluating his own future. “Leclerc will wait for Ferrari for the first three or four races of the 2026 season,” he said.
“If the results are again disappointing, he will become an Aston Martin driver from 2027.”
Former F1 driver Vitaly Petrov believes 2026 could be decisive for Hamilton himself.
“Fans have been expecting good results for a long time, and Lewis Hamilton has been hit with a barrage of negativity,” he said on the SMP Racing Telegram channel.
“I think he wants to finish the season quickly. It will be interesting to see how he prepares for 2026. It could be either a renaissance for him or the end of his career.”
Team boss Frederic Vasseur, unusually quiet over the Vegas weekend after Elkann’s intervention, attempted to bring calm after the race.
“I can understand Lewis’s reaction right after the race, but we need to calm down, discuss it, and focus on the next two races,” he told DAZN.
Vasseur stressed that Hamilton’s initial comments were made under the pressure of the moment.
“The encounter with the television cameras five minutes after the race, when you’ve had a bad day, is very tough,” he said. “I understand the adrenaline, the emotion, and that someone might make a harsh comment at this point in the weekend.”
He said he prefers honest reactions to scripted positivity.
“I prefer drivers to be frank at the end of the race when we haven’t done a perfect job,” Vasseur said. “Instead of someone going on TV saying, ‘The team is perfect, the car is good, blah, blah, blah.'”
The Ferrari chief insisted the weekend was not as catastrophic as the headline result implied.
“Hamilton had good pace in the first two practice sessions,” he noted. “He dropped off in qualifying, but the situation wasn’t as dramatic as it seemed.”
Ferrari’s drivers, including Leclerc who called qualifying “embarrassing”, made their frustration clear in Las Vegas, and Vasseur conceded: “We should calm down.”
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