JUST IN: MAX VERSTAPPEN OFFICIALLY CONFIRMS AGE IS DESTROYING LEWIS HAMILTON’S SPEED AT FERRARI
Max Verstappen admits it "sucks" to see Lewis Hamilton struggle at Ferrari after a podium-less 2025 F1 season.
Max Verstappen said it was tough watching Lewis Hamilton struggle in his first F1 season with Ferrari.
After over ten years with Mercedes, Hamilton switched to Ferrari for 2025, but the move hasn't paid off so far.
The seven-time world champ had his first season ever without a single podium finish.
Hamilton ended up 86 points behind his teammate, Charles Leclerc, in the SF-25. Ferrari wasn't very competitive, but the difference between the two drivers' results was still pretty obvious.
Hamilton also had a hard time in qualifying, ending the year with three straight Q1 exits. That's the worst he's done in qualifying since 2009.
The British racer often seemed sad during interviews, which made people wonder if he might retire.
But Hamilton has said that he's not planning to quit and that he'll keep racing, even though some people think he should leave F1.
Verstappen said he doesn't enjoy seeing Hamilton like this.
He told Viaplay, Well, to be very clear, it hasn't been a good season for him at Ferrari.
You can see it in everything, even on the radio during races. I have to say, it really sucks to see him like that.”
He continued, “For me, too, to be honest. I don’t like watching it.
I don’t know about him quitting, because I don’t think he's giving up. Lewis will still be around.”
Verstappen talked about the problems Hamilton is facing at Ferrari.
The Dutch driver also said that it's been hard for Hamilton to switch from Mercedes to Ferrari.
If you don’t feel confident or relaxed with the team, you can't be yourself, and that makes a difference, Verstappen said.
You leave a team that was like family at Mercedes, where you built your whole career.
Everyone benefited from that. Then, going a totally different way is not easy, especially when you're up against someone (Charles Leclerc) who's been there a while. It's really tough.
Verstappen thinks age is another thing that's tough for Hamilton.
And age is not going to help you. You're not going to get faster at that age, maybe not slower, but not faster. Charles is still improving, so that doesn't help either.
Hamilton will be 41 in January and has a contract with Ferrari for the next two seasons.
Verstappen thinks it would be hard for a driver who loves the sport as much as Hamilton does to just walk away.
"If this is your whole life, it's very hard to give it up," he finished.
SHOCK: ZAK BROWN OFFICIALLY CROWNS OSCAR PIASTRI AS MCLAREN’S FUTURE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP KING.
Zak Brown declares Oscar Piastri a "Future World Champion" despite Lando Norris’s dramatic 2025 title victory.
Oscar Piastri might've missed out on the F1 2025 title since Lando Norris won, but Zak Brown thinks Piastri's got a bright future.
Brown, the McLaren Racing CEO, believes Piastri will be a world champion someday. He said F1 can be tough since both Norris and Piastri raced great, but Norris got the title.
Zak Brown on Oscar Piastri: ‘Future World Champion’
Piastri looked like he might win his first World Championship halfway through the season. He was ahead of Norris by 34 points after the Dutch Grand Prix, but Norris caught up, and Piastri's performance dipped a bit.
Even though Piastri did better near the end, it wasn't enough. Norris beat Red Bull's Max Verstappen by two points to take the crown. Piastri ended up in third after the Abu Dhabi race, which was a close fight between the three of them.
Brown is sure Piastri will get his chance.
"He's going to be a world champion," Brown said about Piastri on Sky F1.
Both our drivers won seven races and raced amazingly, and they supported each other.
It's a tough sport. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't.
But I can't wait to race with these two guys next year.
Even though Piastri didn't win, F1 2025 was still a season where he improved a lot during his third year.
Piastri talked about learning stuff that would help him later, as he plans to come back in 2026 and try again.
The 2026 season should be interesting because there are new rules for the cars and engines, which could shake things up.
“I would have liked a different ending, but I think this year I’ve learned so much about myself as a driver and as a person,” Piastri told Media.
“If you told me at the start of the year that I would get pole positions, wins, and podiums, I would have been happy.
“And even when things were tough, I learned a lot about myself and how to be stronger later on.
“So, there’s a bit of sadness, of course, but I’m proud of the season I had, and I’ve learned a lot for the future.”
SHOCK: OLIVER MINTZLAFF CONFIRMS CHRISTIAN HORNER’S £80 MILLION SEVERANCE DEAL AFTER SUMMER DISMISSAL
Oliver Mintzlaff breaks the silence on Christian Horner's sacking while Max Verstappen ignores the Spanish GP "guilt."
Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff talked about why they let Christian Horner go earlier this year.
Horner had been in charge of the team since it started in 2005. He saw Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel win a bunch of world championships.
Former Aston Martin strategy engineer Bernie Collins thinks the F1 rankings in 2026 will mostly depend on how good the new engine is.
Next year, there will be big changes to both the engine and the aero rules.
Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff seems sure that Max Verstappen won't decide to race for another F1 team before he retires.
There was a lot of talk about Verstappen's F1 future in the first half of 2025 because the team wasn't doing so well compared to McLaren, which was way ahead.
David Coulthard doesn't think Max Verstappen will be sorry about bumping into George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix, even though it cost him some key points. He thinks only weaker minds would feel that way.
Everyone knows about what happened at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Even if the Red Bull driver had given up his spot to the Brit without any trouble, he still would have finished fifth and gotten 10 points.
Fred Vasseur said that Ferrari will show up at the private test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in January with a spec A car.
The Ferrari boss thinks other F1 teams will do the same. He said that the main thing during the five-day test won't be how fast the car is, but how well it holds up.
Toto Wolff said Mercedes is lucky to have George Russell racing for them after the British driver's great 2025 F1 season.
Russell, who has won five Grand Prix races, did really well that season. He came in fourth overall, behind the top three drivers, and made it to the podium nine times, winning twice.