Lewis Hamilton Admits Ground-Effect Cars Ruined His F1 Prime

Lewis Hamilton made a shocking confession that the ground-effect era was the worst period in Formula 1 for him.

Lewis Hamilton Admits Ground-Effect Cars Ruined His F1 Prime

Lewis Hamilton (via F1)

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Lewis Hamilton suffered miserably in terms of performance ever since the ground-effect era was introduced in 2022. The Briton was coming off a championship-loss in 2021 and title winning streak before that.

However, his results turned for the worse since the return of the Venturi wind tunnel effect. Now, the seven-time champion accepts his shortcomings in the recent regulations and how they ruined his prime.

Lewis Hamilton was on the trajectory to break legendary Michael Schumacher‘s world record of seven title wins if it weren’t for his controversial loss at the 2021 Abu Dhabi. The title loss back then certainly left some scars in Hamilton, as he could never fully recover in terms of performances since then. Moreover, the unstable balance of the ground-effect era cars proved to be problematic for the 40-year-old.

Though Lewis Hamilton was always vocal about his dislike of the 2022-2025 regulations, he has once again lamented them. The 40-year-old insisted that the recent regulations were so bad that there wasn’t even a single aspect that he would miss about the ground-effect era. Moreover, Hamilton might not be out of trouble fully, as he anticipates difficulties in the upcoming regulations as well.

There’s not a single thing I’ll miss about these cars. It’s been really interesting (2026 regulations).

Lewis Hamilton said, as reported by motorsport.com.

Further, Lewis Hamilton asserted that the ground-effect era regultaions was probably the worst ones for him. Hamilton was only able to achieve a couple of race wins over the four years of the recent regulations, which is definitely a big disappointment when compared to his dominance back in 2013 to 2020. The seven-time champion pointed out that he was praying for the new regulations not be worse than the 2022 regulations.

This generation was probably the worst one, I would say, and I’m praying that the next one is not worse than that.

Lewis Hamilton added.

Lewis Hamilton reassures ‘100% support’ for Ferrari’s development arc in 2025

Ferrari stopped development on the SF25 challenger early on, following their difficulties in the 2025 season. Because of the lack of upgrades, the team failed to put forth a positive performance on many circuits where they usually performed much better.

Lewis Hamilton and Fred Vasseur (via F1)
Lewis Hamilton and Fred Vasseur (via F1)

Though Lewis Hamilton sent documents to the team suggesting upgrades, the squad still missed out on results because of the lack of upgrades. Now, the 40-year-old reassures his full support towards the team’s decision, even in hindsight.

Lewis Hamilton recalled that he was pushing Fred Vasseur to keep upgrading the car and bringing in changes. He was suffering from a steep learning curve, and falling behind on upgrades certainly did not help their results. Still, Hamilton accepted that he was fully supporting the decisions and thinks it was the right call.

I was pushing Fred, It’s like we can’t fall behind the others in terms of development for the new car, because it’s a steep learning curve for all of us. So I supported it 100%. I still do – I think it was the right decision. Particularly where we were already with the car, we weren’t fighting for a championship.

Lewis Hamilton noted.

The 2026 season will be a big unknown for all the teams and drivers. No one is seemingly the clear favorite to perform well under the new regulations. Regardless, Lewis Hamilton will hope for much better results in the coming regulations.

It could be make or break for the 40-year-old’s career after all, as poor performance for yet another regulation will cause him to consider retirement from the sport.

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