Lewis Hamilton provided some rare post-race positivity by voicing excitement at putting his phone “in the bin” after a challenging debut Formula 1 season with Ferrari.
The 40-year-old has endured perhaps his toughest campaign, becoming only the seventh driver in the Scuderia’s history to complete a season without a podium finish.
Hamilton has continued his struggles with the ground-effect era and the much-maligned SF-25 machine, which has plagued both him and team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The Briton recorded a third consecutive Q1 wxit for the curtain-closer in Abu Dhabi, but completed a manful performance by finishing eighth at the Yas Marina Circuit.
But Hamilton has failed to find any semblance of zeal amid brighter moments in his meagre season, but the thought of ‘unplugging’ made him feel somewhat happier.
“At the moment I’m only looking forward to the break, just disconnecting, not speaking to anyone,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“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.
“I’ve generally always had it around. But this time, it’s going in the freaking bin.”
Hamilton will be 41 by the time the 2026 season kicks off, which, with new set of regulations, will provide a brand new challenge, even for a seven-time World Champion.
If the next Ferrari car shows more competitiveness without the myriad of drawbacks of its predecessor, then Hamilton will stand a chance of completing a career renaissance.
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