In every sportsman’s life comes a time they wish they could just erase out of existence. 2025 was that year for Lewis Hamilton. His shift to Ferrari was meant to be the start of a new chapter. It was supposed to elevate his legend to another level from an already powerful legacy he built with Mercedes. Instead, it turned into one of the most painful periods of his life, a period he’d do anything to forget. As the season’s over, he’s taking action on it, and we might just be looking at a Hamilton-less world for a while.

Lewis Hamilton just wants to disappear

By the time the checkered flag fell in Abu Dhabi, Lewis Hamilton looked like a man who had nothing left to give. Zero wins, zero poles, and zero podiums throughout the year from a seven-time world champion who has rarely gone a year without a top-three finish before.

He drove a car that never felt right, faced back pain and mechanical headaches, and finished eighty-six points behind his teammate Charles Leclerc. He called 2025 the worst season of his career, and you could hear it in his voice.

“At the moment, I’m only looking forward to the break. Just disconnecting. Not speaking to anyone. No one’s going to be able to get a hold of me this winter. I won’t have my phone with me. I’m looking forward to that.

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“Just completely unplugged from the matrix. I’ve generally always had it around, but this time it’s going in the fricking bin.”

He’s done it before in small doses, but this time he sounded different. No photo shoots, no sponsor calls, no interviews, no social media. Just silence. He even said he can’t wait for the day he doesn’t have to do any of that stuff anymore.

Since moving to Ferrari, he has repeatedly spoken about the car’s instability, like how the cornering has been unpredictable, the balance has been poor, and how the car has often snapped mid-turns. All of which he didn’t face at Mercedes, which has affected his confidence to drive.

When someone brought up retirement rumors, he brushed them off with a tired “I’ll find out when I do it.” Then he added the line that hit hardest: “That’s the thing I look forward to one day, not having to do it all.”

This year, he finished sixth in the standings. His season’s only cameo of glimmer was when he won the sprint-race in Shanghai.

He isn’t angry. He is exhausted. The guy who’s won more races than anyone in history sounded like someone who just needs the world to leave him alone for a minute. And he deserves it.

Nico Rosberg and everyone else can wait as Hamilton isn’t ready to talk future yet

Nico Rosberg, the guy who beat him to a title in 2016, went on TV and said Hamilton should stick it out, keep fighting, don’t quit. When reporters asked Hamilton about that advice, he didn’t bite.

“I wouldn’t say anything to them,” he replied. “None of them have done what I’ve done.”

That wasn’t arrogance. It was a quiet reminder that nobody else knows what it feels like to carry seven championships, a hundred plus wins, and still climb into a car that won’t go fast when everyone expects you to win anyway. He’s earned the right to take a breath without explaining himself to anyone.

He did leave one tiny crack of light. He told the team he has “so many notes” for how to fix the car, pages and pages of things they got wrong in 2025. That doesn’t sound like a guy walking away forever. It sounds like a guy who’s hurt, tired, and ready to disappear for a while, but still planning to come back swinging when the break is over.

Because that’s what Lewis Hamilton has always done: go quiet, recharge, return stronger. This time, the quiet part might just be a little longer and a little louder. The phone is going in the bin, the world is getting turned off, and for the first time in twenty years, nobody knows exactly when the greatest driver of his generation is coming back.

When he does, you can bet the fire will still be there. He just needs the world to shut up long enough for him to find it again.