Lewis Hamilton receives blunt Brundle F1 2026 verdict after Leclerc defeat

Based on his 2025 showing, Lewis Hamilton no longer has the skillset to defeat his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.

That is the verdict issued by F1 driver turned Sky pundit Martin Brundle, after Hamilton was soundly defeated by Leclerc in his first season with Ferrari. Brundle, though, did point to potential hope for Hamilton with new regulations coming into effect for F1 2026.

Martin Brundle on Lewis Hamilton: ‘Not on this year’s results’

Hamilton arrived at Ferrari in 2025 to great fanfare. But, the seven-time World Champion struggled to live up to the hype.

Hamilton did give Ferrari its only form of F1 2025 victory by winning the China Sprint, but went the entire season without a single grand prix podium.

Leclerc, meanwhile, scored all seven of Ferrari’s podiums, and ended the year 86 points better off than his illustrious teammate.

“The trouble is his stats and his reputation is not being enhanced with this,” Brundle warned.

Brundle does, however, expect Hamilton to be back for another crack at it in F1 2026.

“But I would have thought he will wait and see if Ferrari get it together for 2026, see how he’s going, see how they’re going, if he’s enjoying it,” Brundle continued.

“I think if we were asking that [retirement] question a year from now, when he’s had a difficult season… I would be very surprised if he just switches it off this winter.”

Opportunity knocks in 2026, as both the chassis and engine regulations undergo wholesale changes. It creates an opening for teams like Ferrari, and a driver like Hamilton, to trigger a reversal of fortunes.

Yet, even if Ferrari did have a title-contending car for F1 2026, it begs the question of whether Hamilton would be the one to make best use of it.

Brundle was asked if he believes Hamilton – to turn 41 ahead of the season-opener, still has the skillset to beat a driver of Leclerc’s calibre.

“Not on this year’s results, no,” Brundle responded.

“But, let’s see how he copes with the way the cars… They’re going to handle completely differently next year.”

Hamilton’s former Mercedes teammate, 2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg, highlighted Hamilton’s one-lap pace as a key sticking point.

Hamilton ended his season with four consecutive Q1 eliminations across Sprint and Grand Prix action.

“His great struggle this year was qualifying pace,” said Rosberg of Hamilton, “because in the race, there was always still these flashes of brilliance that we kept on seeing again. It’s just qualifying pace.

“With the cars being so different next year, maybe he can find some of that old magic again in qualifying. So the hope is still there.”

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Hamilton has made it clear that his struggles against Leclerc, in a disappointing first year with Ferrari, will not weigh on his mind going into F1 2026.

“I’m not concerned about it, no,” he confirmed.

“I’ve just been focusing on my side during this period.

“Obviously, Charles has done a great job. He’s been there for seven years. He’s got a team around him that he’s worked with for many years. So, it’s a well-oiled machine.

“On my side, it’s a new group of people. For me, it’s a new environment that I’m still getting used to working with. Then I had another new member halfway through the year.

“So, we’re all working as hard as we can, but getting that to work as well as someone that’s had it for several years is not… you don’t just do it like that. It takes a bit of time.”

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