Damning reality behind Lewis Hamilton’s horror fall-off at Ferrari

James McKern

And if he can’t turn his horror run of form around over the final two races, he appears set to achieve an unwanted first in his illustrious career while also costing his team millions.

Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari left jaws on the floor, but also had many predicting the driver line-up could take the Italian outfit back to the top of the leaderboard.

Instead what has unfolded is the team that finished second in the constructors championship last year has gone backwards.

And it has been Hamilton’s constant struggles throughout his first season that have continually stolen the limelight.

With only two races left on the calendar, Hamilton looks like he’ll finish his first season in Formula 1 without stepping foot on the podium after a main race of the weekend.

Not since his career began back in 2007 has the 40-year-old gone an entire F1 season without spraying the champagne.

That’s about to change.

His struggles have left him despondent when talking to the media following races and after the recent Las Vegas Grand Prix he was no different.

The British superstar started the race from 20th position following a qualifying disaster and while he was able to scrap his way into the points, his 10th place across the line finish did nothing to brighten his hopes on what has been a bleak season.

“I feel terrible,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 immediately after Las Vegas.

“It’s been the worst season ever and no matter how much I try, it just keeps getting worse.

“I’m trying everything in and out of the car.

“I don’t even know how many points we have, but at this rate, with my performance, we’re done.

“Zero. Zero. The most meaningless nine places, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s still a bad weekend.

“I mean, I’ve had 22 bad weekends. So I anticipate another couple.”

Hamilton has finished fourth in four races throughout the 2025 season, but never really looked like a serious podium threat during any.

During the United States Grand Prix and Austrian Grand Prix, he finished behind his teammate while in the Great Britain Grand Prix he crossed behind Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg.

His other fourth place finish came during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix when he finished behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

While his results haven’t exactly been horrendous, it’s not the standard we’ve come to expect from the superstar behind the wheel.

$46m reality behind Hamilton’s horror fall-off

As he currently sits in sixth place on the drivers standings, just 15 points ahead of Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli, Hamilton’s lacklustre finishes appear on track to cost Ferrari dearly.

The constructors standings not only come with bragging rights for the teams, they also come with a significant financial injection.

The higher up a team finishes in the standings, the larger share they receive out of the prize pool which is based on F1 revenue for the year.

Last season Ferrari finished second behind McLaren, but right now they find themselves fourth in the standings behind.

With 378 points to their name, they trail Red Bull (391), Mercedes (431) and McLaren (756).

The difference between second and fourth in prize money amounts to around $26m ($46.3m AUD) in 2024 figures.

With the sport continually expanding, those figures are expected to significantly increase following the 2025 season.

It means that if Hamilton can’t end his nightmare run of race results in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, Ferrari could be staring down the barrel of a significant financial hit.

The Formula 1 paddock will head into the desert for the second last race of the weekend with both a sprint and race set to take place in Qatar from November 28.