Lewis Hamilton’s difficult transition into life at Ferrari reached another low point at the 2025 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix, as the seven-time world champion suffered a second consecutive early qualifying elimination. For the first time in his Ferrari career, Lewis Hamilton has recorded back-to-back Q1 exits, ending Saturday’s session in a frustrating P18 and continuing what has become a disastrous weekend in Lusail.
The 40-year-old British driver has now finished both qualifying sessions held at the Lusail International Circuit in 18th place. Even Saturday’s Formula 1 Sprint offered little relief. Lewis Hamilton was forced to begin the 100km sprint from the pit lane after a deeply compromised Friday session, eventually crossing the line only in P17. Ferrari’s poor form stood in stark contrast to the rest of the field and further exposed the shortcomings of the Ferrari F1-25.
On Friday during SQ1, Lewis Hamilton registered a 1:22.043, a time that placed him ahead of only Alpine pair Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto. In Saturday’s standard qualifying, he improved significantly to a 1:20.907, yet still fell 0.254s short of progressing into Q2. His struggles were evident: only Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto produced slower laps, by margins of 0.151s and 0.230s respectively. Meanwhile, his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc extracted more speed from the same machinery, setting a 1:20.564 to place P9 in Q1 before eventually getting through to Q3.
Lewis Hamilton battles confidence issues with the Ferrari F1-25 during Qatar GP qualifying
Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok immediately picked up on the underlying problem after reviewing Lewis Hamilton’s onboard footage from the final moments of Q1. According to the Indian former racing driver and broadcaster the core issue was not a single mistake or an isolated setup misstep, but a fundamental lack of confidence in the Ferrari F1-25’s balance and grip levels. He suggested that Lewis Hamilton simply could not commit to key corners with the assurance required at a high-speed circuit like Lusail.
While several competitors carried near-full throttle through the medium- and high-speed bends, Lewis Hamilton repeatedly had to lift, losing momentum at multiple points around the lap. Chandhok highlighted Turns 3 and 4 as particularly revealing: the data showed hesitation on the throttle, with Hamilton applying several small inputs rather than one smooth, committed application. At the tight left-hand Turn 6 hairpin, oversteer on entry cost him another chunk of time.
Chandhok also pointed out that Lewis Hamilton bled more time at Turn 15 than most of the grid, as others executed only a light lift while the Briton was forced to back out far more aggressively. The former Formula 1 driver suggested that these repeated moments showed the Ferrari star fighting a car that simply did not give him the confidence needed to extract full performance—something most drivers would not expect at a team of Ferrari’s stature.
Ferrari’s misfiring 2025 campaign adds another setback as Lewis Hamilton labels it his ‘worst season ever’
Ferrari’s struggles with Lewis Hamilton are no longer limited to a single weekend. The Scuderia also witnessed him qualify in P20 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, marking the first time in his career he had been last on pure performance. While torrential rain played a role in Las Vegas, Qatar provided no such excuse, yet the problems resurfaced just as severely.
The triple Q1 exit marks one of the most difficult periods ever experienced by Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1. His debut season with Ferrari, expected to spark a resurgence for the Scuderia, has instead produced one disappointing chapter after another. Even his spirited recovery in Las Vegas—where he climbed from last to P10 before inheriting P8 after the McLaren double disqualification—did little to lighten the tone. Lewis Hamilton admitted after São Paulo that the campaign had become a “nightmare,” and he has since suggested that 2025 now stands as his “worst season ever” in the sport.
Based on his current points tally, Lewis Hamilton is on course to record his lowest scoring season since the modern scoring system was introduced in 2010. For a driver with 104 pole positions and a record-breaking résumé, such results would once have seemed unthinkable. Yet Ferrari’s inconsistency, coupled with the unpredictable handling of the F1-25, has created a downward spiral that neither the Briton nor Ferrari have been able to halt so far.
With pressure mounting from the Ferrari hierarchy and the championship slipping even further away, the Qatar Grand Prix weekend has only amplified the scale of the challenge facing both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc as the 2025 Formula 1 season continues.
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