racingnews365.com·
A year on since Lewis Hamilton broke the internet
Exactly one year ago today, Lewis Hamilton stood outside Enzo
Ferrari's house in Modena, dressed immaculately in a Ferragamo
three-piece suit, posing beside an F40. The image, posted on 20
January 2025, became the most liked Instagram post in Formula 1
history, amassing 5.7 million likes and reaching 25 million views
on X. It was a moment of pure theatre, capturing the weight of
expectation placed upon Hamilton to restore Ferrari's glory after
17 years without a constructors' championship. The seven-time
world champion's carefully curated appearance, complete with
reports of him speaking Italian, signalled his total commitment to
the Scuderia. What followed, however, was anything but glorious.
Article continues below the Instagram post...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DFC5g6WsxQW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lewis Hamilton
(@lewishamilton) Hamilton's nightmare 2025 in red Hamilton's 2025
campaign became the worst of his career. For the first time since
joining F1 in 2007, he completed an entire season without a single
grand prix podium. His only appearance on the top step of a
rostrum came in the China Sprint last March, an anomaly that only
highlighted how dire his Sundays became. The numbers tell a brutal
story. Hamilton finished sixth in the championship with 156 points,
86 behind teammate Charles Leclerc's 242. He averaged four
positions below Leclerc in qualifying and suffered a historic
collapse at the season's end, becoming the first full-time Ferrari
driver since 2009 to qualify last. Three consecutive Q1
eliminations from Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi capped a nightmare he
openly described as such. The SF-25 was fundamentally flawed. A
backfiring suspension change, an extremely narrow operating window,
and braking instability plagued the car. After both Ferraris were
disqualified in China for plank wear and weight violations, the
team was forced into conservative setups that sacrificed
performance. Hamilton, adapting to machinery built without his
input after 12 Mercedes years, never found comfort with the driving
style required. Article continues below... Hamilton's 2026 reset
Ferrari made a calculated decision in April 2025, stopping major
development after determining the SF-25's concept carried
irreparable limitations. Everything pivoted to 2026, where sweeping
regulation changes offer a clean slate for all teams. The new rules
introduce lighter, more agile cars with active aerodynamics,
redesigned hybrid power units with an even split between combustion
and electric power, and a manual override system replacing DRS. It
represents the most significant overhaul in F1 history. For
Hamilton, 2026 is critical. Reports suggest Ferrari are developing
a split strategy to suit both him and Leclerc, with a third sidepod
concept planned for the Australian season opener in March. Three
separate pre-season testing sessions, starting in Barcelona on 26
January, provide crucial preparation time. That viral photograph
from a year ago promised a fairytale ending to Hamilton's career.
Instead, 2025 delivered pain. Now, the 41-year-old faces his last
great challenge: proving the dream is merely delayed, not dead.
