HAMILTON GOES INTO HIBERNATION

"NO ONE’S GOING TO GET HOLD OF ME THIS WINTER

- 

Lewis Hamilton said after the final race of what has been an annus horribilis for him at Ferrari that he wanted to shut off from the world over the winter.

“I'm already looking forward just to the break, just to disconnecting, not speaking to anyone,” the seven-time champion said, after the worst season of his career.

“No one’s going to be able to get hold of me this winter. I won’t have my phone with me and I’m looking forward to that. Just completely unplugged from the matrix.

“I’ve generally always had it around, but this time it’s going in the fricking bin.”

His remarks reflect the toll this season, his first in which he has scored not a single podium finish in a grand prix, has had on Hamilton.

It was a year that started with such positivity, but quickly turned into something Hamilton himself described as a “nightmare”.

The 40-year-old Briton joined Ferrari with the ambition of winning that elusive eighth world title, which he - and a good number of others - believes he should already have won in the controversial 2021 title decider.

It had been a longtime ambition, and the move created a sensation.

The sport’s most famous driver joining its most iconic team, right at a time when Ferrari seemed to be on an upward trajectory after ending 2024 narrowly missing out on the constructors’ championship at the final race of the year. It seemed set up perfectly.