Lewis Hamilton issues statement to Ferrari fans as Brit tipped to quit after one season

asked fans to 'keep their fingers crossed', insisting that he is 'not going to give up' on his dream of delivering an F1 title to the Tifosi. The Brit has struggled in his debut campaign with the Italian constructor and was even tipped to leave the team by former Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari.

Speaking about the Brit on the After Lap podcast, Alguersuari, who now works as a DJ since leaving F1, said: "I have the feeling that Hamilton, he's going to leave. I don't know why I'm taking a risk by saying this. But I have the feeling that he's like, his time has passed, that he's already won a lot, that he's already won everything and that he's saying: 'OK, I've gone to Ferrari to try and see what happens in 2026.'"

Hamilton joined the Scuderia hoping that a fresh start would bring an end to his qualifying struggles, but it has been the same old story for the 40-year-old since donning the iconic red overalls in Australia. There have been some positives, though, with a sprint race victory in China inspiring hope that this move will eventually work out.

However, the statistics make for glum reading for the legendary Brit. He trails team-mate Charles Leclerc by 16 points in the Drivers' Championship, and is seven points behind Kimi Antonelli, who replaced him at Mercedes.

Despite the difficult start, Hamilton isn't giving up. Speaking at a public appearance in London ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, the Brit said: "Please keep your fingers crossed. I'm not going to give up. We're going to keep getting better. Still we rise, right?"

Unfortunately for Hamilton, no significant changes will be arriving on the SF-25 in Miami. Teams generally avoid bringing upgrade packages to sprint weekends, as the solo practice session does not allow sufficient time to set up the cars in their new configurations.

"Miami, there is the Sprint race and little time to work; we will probably bring updates to Imola," Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur explained after the race in Jeddah.

The Frenchman then added: "When you understand where the problems are, you can work to solve them, and we think we have understood where to intervene. We keep the same approach as last year and think race by race."