Lewis Hamilton has expressed his concern towards the future of Formula 1, claiming it feels like the sport is not “going in the right direction” with the 2026 regulations.
The seven-time F1 champion has endured a difficult start to 2025, with zero podiums in the opening nine races leaving him 23 points behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The Briton has been open about his struggles with the troublesome SF-25 and disclosed that he would soon be pushing the Italian marque to switch attention to 2025.
And the topic of 2026 was pertinent to Hamilton’s worries about F1’s direction, holding onto hope that it will see an improvement in the sport, something he conveyed it desperately needs.
“I don’t think it’s going in the right direction, personally,” he told Sky Italia. “Maybe I’ll be surprised next year. Maybe we arrive and the cars are really nice.”
However, Hamilton appears worried about the pace of the current cars and whether that will be a continuing trend.
“With the direction we’re going, we’re going slower. The cars are getting heavier,” he added.
“I mean, next year, I guess they are getting lighter, but this generation of car is the heaviest car that I’ve raced.”
Whilst the Briton has been a champion of the sustainability aspect of F1, he talked of his nostalgia for the bygone days of F1.
“For me, I miss the sound. When you hear a V12 Ferrari, it’s like, it’s the passion,” he admitted.
“Soon as we started with V6s — whilst it’s a good direction to go for the world in terms of sustainability, I think it’s been positive in that respect.
“But you can’t get away with the fact that the sound is not the same as it was when you watch Michael Schumacher’s car from 2003 come past, and it’s like, ‘ah!’”
Ferrari ‘hype’ triggers ‘busiest’ ever start for Hamilton
Hamilton also talked about his schedule and how the prestige of driving for Ferrari has heaped further work onto what would already be a trying time.
“This year, it’s been the busiest first half of the season I’ve ever had,” he divulged.
“The pressure, for sure, has been the highest, and the expectation for myself from everyone wanting so much.
“But when you’re faced with the reality is that we’re not fighting currently for the World Championship in terms of pure pace.
“My first year at Mercedes, the first six months were difficult, too. It just wasn’t as big a hype as here, because this is Ferrari.
“The direction that I pushed the car and the setup worked well in China, and then we have to pull back on some things, and we’ve not been able to get there since.”