Lewis Hamilton has described his debut season with Ferrari as the 'worst season ever' following a despondent performance at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, capping off a deeply challenging year for the seven-time world champion.
A Crestfallen Recovery in the Desert
The 40-year-old British driver faced an uphill battle from the outset in Las Vegas, qualifying at the back of the grid for the first time in his career on pure pace. Despite a recovery drive that saw him climb to 12th early on, he could only manage a 10th-place finish, securing a solitary championship point.
Speaking to reporters in the media pen afterwards, a visibly dejected Hamilton did not mince his words. "I feel terrible, terrible. It's been the worst season ever," he confessed. "No matter how much I try, it keeps getting worse. I'm trying everything, in and out of the car."
His disappointment follows a difficult fortnight, which included a retirement at the previous race in Brazil and public criticism from Ferrari chairman John Elkann, who advised the driver to "talk less and focus on driving."
Team Struggles and Championship Standings
The struggles were not Hamilton's alone. His teammate, Charles Leclerc, also expressed frustration despite a stronger personal performance. Starting from ninth, the Monegasque driver finished sixth but was left ruing a lack of straight-line speed.
"It's not a good result - P6 is very disappointing," said Leclerc. "It was probably my best performance of the season personally... but in the straights, we were losing a lot of speed."
In the drivers' championship, Hamilton remains sixth, with Leclerc in fifth. The standings highlight a significant intra-team gap, with Hamilton 73 points behind his teammate. He has also been out-qualified by Leclerc 17 times this year and has failed to secure a single podium finish throughout the entire campaign.
Qualifying Controversy and a Season to Forget
Hamilton's woes in Las Vegas began in qualifying, where his final push lap was hindered by yellow flags. A misjudgement then followed, as he believed he had crossed the start-finish line too late to begin another lap. Slow-motion replays later revealed he could have started another attempt, a costly error that cemented his poor grid position.
This latest chapter adds to a season Hamilton had previously labelled a "nightmare". The criticism from chairman Elkann 11 days prior and the continued performance deficit to his teammate have made his first year in red one he is desperate to forget.
Meanwhile, the race was won by Max Verstappen, with Lando Norris second and George Russell third. Norris now leads the championship and can clinch the title at the next round in Qatar.
