‘They’re not on my level’: Hamilton swats away retirement chatter after bruising Ferrari debut year
Lewis Hamilton has heard the noise. The ex-drivers, the call-in shows, the WhatsApps that start with “no offence, but…” After a season with Ferrari that didn’t crack a grand prix podium once, the 40-year-old was asked in Abu Dhabi about talk of retirement led by familiar voices – including Nico Rosberg. Hamilton’s reply was pure flint.
“I won’t say anything to them,” he said. “None of them have done what I’ve done. They’re not even on my level.”
That line will ricochet around the paddock, and he knew it. It also came with something else: a clear intent to carry on into 2026 and the new rules cycle, not shut the door after a single year in red that cut deep.
This was not the Ferrari fairytale, not yet. The move from Mercedes was supposed to recharge the sport’s most decorated driver. Instead, 2025 delivered a single highlight – a Sprint win in China – and an uncomfortable statistic: the first season of Hamilton’s career without a grand prix podium. He also finished 86 points behind teammate Charles Leclerc, who has been the reference point at Maranello since the day he walked in. The romantic headline turned into hard miles.
That gap is part of why the commentary swept in. Rosberg, the 2016 world champion and Hamilton’s old sparring partner, told Sky F1 that retiring now would be “a loss of face,” arguing that stepping away 12 months into the Ferrari project “just because it’s difficult” would never fly. He added that this run is “putting a little scratch on his legacy.”
Ralf Schumacher, never shy with an opinion, suggested Hamilton should “let go” for Ferrari’s sake ahead of 2026. Martin Brundle offered the pragmatic view: don’t make any decisions until seeing what Ferrari builds for the dawn of the new era.
Hamilton’s not biting. Asked directly if he had a message for the critics, he brushed it off, then pivoted to something more telling: the need to disappear for a while. “I’m looking forward to disconnecting, not speaking to anyone,” he smiled. “My phone’s going in the freaking bin.” The endless shoots, the sponsor days, even the aura of Ferrari comes with a tax. “I can’t wait to get away from all this. Every week, photo shoots and all that kind of stuff. That’s the thing I look forward to one day, not having to do it all,” he said with a laugh.
So why keep going? The answer landed without theatre. “It’s the love for what you do. It’s love for racing,” Hamilton said. “It’s an amazing support from people around me, my fans. It’s that constant keeping an eye on the dream. I still have a dream, that I hold hope in my heart for, and that’s what I work towards.”
Strip away the soundbites and the picture is pretty simple. Hamilton hasn’t forgotten how to drive, and Ferrari hasn’t forgotten how to win races. What they haven’t done, yet, is build the kind of rhythm that turns a brand-new partnership into results on Sundays. There were flashes – that Shanghai Sprint win, a few qualifying laps that said the speed is still there – but nothing sustained.
Inside Maranello, there’s little appetite for melodrama. Ferrari’s leadership sold Hamilton on the long game: learn 2025 together, throw everything at 2026. The regulations are turning the page again, and whenever F1 resets, experience tends to rise. Hamilton has more of that than anyone on the grid, and Ferrari know it.
And Rosberg’s jab? File it under exactly what Hamilton wants to hear right now. The seven-time champion has spent years being told what his legacy needs. He’s spent the last twelve months having it graded every other weekend. The truth is the trophy cabinet isn’t going anywhere, and neither is he.
Ferrari’s job is to hand him a car he can fight with. Hamilton’s job is to ensure that, when they do, he’s still the guy you don’t want in your mirrors with 10 laps to go. The rest is chatter for winter.
He’ll switch the phone off, disappear for a few weeks, and at some point in the new year walk back through the glass doors at Maranello. Different calendar, same target. And if anyone asks again about retirement, don’t expect the answer to change.
