Is Lewis Hamilton retiring from F1 as he vows to 'unplug' following difficult first season at Ferrari?
When Lewis Hamilton announced he was joining Ferrari for the 2025 season, everything seemed to be lined up for a title charge.
The seven-time world champion left Mercedes after more than a decade with the team, just as Ferrari finished second in the 2024 constructors’ standings.
A four-way fight at the front between the Scuderia, McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes seemed inevitable - and while McLaren were the class of the field early on, Hamilton’s sprint win in China signalled he was still on the pace.
Sadly for the Briton, this proved to be a false dawn, as Ferrari slumped down the pecking order in terms of performance, and Hamilton struggled personally to find form.
Other factors were also at play - Hamilton relationship with his new race engineer, Riccardo Adami, seemed strained at best. Teammate Charles Leclerc comfortably beat him in both qualifying and race trim, and Ferrari chairman John Elkaan’s comments towards the end of the season won’t have helped either.
Speaking after the season finale in Abu Dhabi last weekend, Hamilton, 40, said: “At the moment I'm only looking forward to the break, just to disconnecting, not speaking to anyone. No one will be able to get in touch with me this winter.
“I won't have my phone with me and I'm looking forward to that. Completely unplug from the matrix.
“My fans have been the thing that have kept me going, they really have been the rock. My mum has been phenomenal and my dad and my family. I would say, just luckily, I've got those good people around me.
“I see young kids, adults rooting me on and reminding me why I do what I do and not to give up which I'm really appreciative of.”
Despite talking about not giving up, there are rumours circulating about whether Hamilton can genuinely stomach another season at a dysfunctional Ferrari team. To that end, some people are even suggesting it could be time for him to retire. Now, the bookies have started taking bets on that very thing.
Shane Orton, spokesperson for SportsCasting, said: “Speculation over Lewis Hamilton retiring before the 2026 season has been fuelled by a wave of recent reporting, with several pundits suggesting his difficult first year at Ferrari has taken a toll.
“Coverage of Hamilton’s frustrations and comments about needing to ‘unplug’ after what he described as one of the toughest campaigns of his career have only strengthened the narrative that he may be weighing up his future.
“With the market offering 4/5 on Hamilton stepping away before 2026, traders are clearly reacting to the growing belief that the Ferrari project may not be delivering what he hoped - and that retirement could be a realistic option.”
At the time of publication, the bookmakers do favour Hamilton staying around for at least one more year, offering evens for him not retiring - an indicator of seeing whether the new regulations pull Ferrari back to the front, before he decides on his future.