After a tumultuous first year with Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton is 14th in Pit Debrief’s 2025 F1 Driver Rankings.
Hamilton’s worst F1 season yet
After twelve seasons at Mercedes, Hamilton joined Ferrari for the 2025 season. What was a perfect match on paper soon proved otherwise.
Despite starting strong with a Sprint win in only his second race weekend with the team at the Chinese GP, things soon took a turn for the worse. The 40-year-old had a rough time adjusting to the SF-25, an issue that seemed to plague his entire season.
The other Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc, made the podium seven times and secured pole position once at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The seven-time World Champion, on the other hand, was unable to stand on the podium for the Maranello-based team even once. This was the first year in his career, which began in 2007, that he went without a podium finish. Hamilton is also now the Ferrari driver with the longest wait for a podium, and will continue to extend that streak into 2026.
Heartbreak for Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton started his Formula 1 journey with McLaren, a team with a Mercedes engine. After them, he went to Mercedes, who, of course, used Mercedes engines. 2025 was the first time in his entire career that Hamilton used a Ferrari engine. This was another problem that added to Hamilton’s list of issues. As his contract with Mercedes did not expire until the end of December 2024, the 105-time race winner was unable to test the SF-24 in Abu Dhabi. Hamilton also had no say in the development of the SF-25.
It might not seem like a big deal, but his lack of experience with Ferrari could have put him on the back foot in 2025, as he was not able to get into a groove the entire season. After the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying, where he exited in Q1, he said to Sky Sports, “It’s me every time. I’m useless, absolutely useless.”
In Grand Prix qualifying, he was thumped 5-19 by Charles Leclerc.
This mood of dejection followed the English driver for the rest of the season, as his highest Grand Prix result remained P4.
2025’s best and worst F1 results
As Lewis Hamilton did not finish on the podium in 2025, his highest result was fourth place. Imola, Austria, Silverstone, and Austin were the four races in which Hamilton scored fourth place. Not counting the DNFs of the Brazilian Grand Prix and Dutch Grand Prix or the DSQ of the Chinese Grand Prix, Hamilton’s worst result was twelfth in Hungary and Qatar. In terms of championship standings, he ended the season in sixth — the same as 2024. As far as qualifying, Hamilton missed out on Q3 nine times. At the Las Vegas Grand Prix, he had his worst result, qualifying 20th. His highest qualifying position was third at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Can he make a comeback?
Does the 104-time polesitter have what it takes to bounce back? Can he finally take home that elusive eighth title? Will time catch up to the most decorated Formula 1 driver in the history of the sport? While we don’t have the answers, we do know that Hamilton will have a chance to start over with the new 2026 regulations. We also know that the McLaren duo, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, were so dominant this year that only two other drivers managed to win. Compared to the 2024 season, Hamilton (objectively) did not do any worse this season. However, significantly stronger drivers overpowered the champion in multiple ways. His teammate is included in that as Leclerc won out by 86 points.
Therefore, he has been ranked 14th out of 21 for the 2025 season in Pit Debrief’s F1 Driver Rankings.
