Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari isn't thrilled with the current F1 regulations, calling them probably the worst he's seen in his career, and is really hoping for something better in 2026.

This ground-effect period has seen Hamilton's performance dip, with no race wins this year. He's pinning his hopes on a big change next season.

This upcoming rules adjustment in 2026 will be the fifth one Hamilton's experienced. Rule changes haven't always been kind to him.

Back in 2009, after being the reigning World Champion, he ended up fifth as McLaren lagged behind teams like Brawn GP. Then, 2014 kicked off an era where Hamilton dominated, grabbing six out of eight possible titles.

But 2022 marked a low point in Hamilton's career. Having never finished lower than fifth in the championship before, he's only been above that spot once in the four years of these ground effect rules.

All this has him really hoping for a comeback in 2026, especially since he feels the current rules are probably the worst he's dealt with.

"It's been quite something," he said about the different rule changes he's gone through. In '09, it all came down to how your team interpreted the rules.

“Like McLaren in 2009, I remember the first day back in the year; they said that the rules were 50 percent less downforce, so they built the car to have 50 percent downforce. I remember arriving back in January, and they’re like, ‘Oh, we’ve already hit our targets.’

“And I’ll be like, ‘Wow, is that normal?’

“We get to the first test, and there’s no downforce at all, and we’re miles off. So I learned a lot through that experience.

“Then 2014 was incredibly exciting, also just because I was in a new team and I could see the amazing work that had been done already a couple years before, particularly on the engine.

“And ’17 was cool because it was a bigger, wider car. Just looked beefier and had more downforce. It was mega.

“This generation was probably the worst one, I would say, and I’m hoping that the next one is not worse.”

Still, Hamilton isn't entirely sure about what to expect, mentioning that simulator runs left him wondering if fans will actually like the changes.

"It's tough to say what it'll be like," he admitted. I don't want to bash it or say too many bad things.

It feels really different, and I'm not sure if people will be into it. Then again, maybe it'll surprise us all and be great.

Perhaps there will be much more overtaking. Maybe it’ll be easier to overtake. I don't know.

We have less downforce and more torque. Driving in the rain, I can imagine, will be very, very, very tough, much harder than it is already with what we have today.

But as I said, we might arrive and might have a better grip than we anticipated. Whether you’ll like the fact that we’re downshifting at the end of straight and different boost parameters, it is different driving now, but it is a massive challenge for us all.

And I think that’s really what sports are all about, right? It’s about continuously challenging ourselves.

If we just did the same thing all the time, then it’d be easy.

Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari probably don’t have fond memories of their first F1 season together. This winter break is critical to avoid repeating the seven-time world champion’s most disappointing year.

Since his debut with McLaren in 2007, this was the first time Hamilton didn't get a single Grand Prix podium finish.

He now holds a record previously held by Louis Rosier: most races for Ferrari without a top-three finish, excluding sprint events.

Charles Leclerc easily beat his new teammate in the championship. But Leclerc also didn't win a race. This shows the problem wasn't just Hamilton.

Ferrari is already planning changes to Hamilton’s car for 2026, when new regulations will likely shake up the grid order.

Former F1 driver Robert Doornbos talked about the problems facing Hamilton and Ferrari.

Looking at onboard footage of both Ferrari drivers, he thinks the team has a serious problem they need to fix.

Doornbos said Ferrari has a terrible rear-end problem that they must solve before next season on The Pit Talk Podcast at the end of the 2025 season.

Talking about Ferrari’s year, he noted the car is hard to manage. “I watched some onboard footage with Lewis and Charles. The amount of power oversteer is just too much. The rear end is unstable.

Finish the sentence: In 2027, the Ferrari driver line-up will be…

“Understeer is when you turn in, and the car doesn't respond; it goes straight. Oversteer is when you turn in, and the rear end slides out. That doesn’t give drivers confidence.

“Not many drivers can handle a car with oversteer at high speed. Max Verstappen is one of them.

“He likes the car to be precise at the front. He uses his talent to control the rear.

“I think both Lewis and Charles have quick reactions, but this car looks difficult to handle. Ferrari didn’t do a good job.”

There’s talk about the future for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc after Ferrari's disappointing season.

They are at different points in their careers; there’s still speculation about what the next few seasons will look like for them.

Hamilton denied rumours that he might leave Ferrari at the end of the season, even though he often looked unhappy after disappointing races.

He hopes Ferrari’s focus on the 2026 car will give him a chance to win again.

Leclerc’s position is more complicated, as he knows he’s entering his prime as an F1 driver.

With rumours that rival teams are watching Leclerc’s situation, he’s made it clear to his manager what he wants to happen next.

McLaren is reportedly interested in Leclerc if Oscar Piastri leaves. It might be hard for Leclerc to turn down their interest if Ferrari doesn’t fix their car problems from last season.