And given some of his comments to media, paddock insiders have interpreted his words as pre-retirement statements. Sky Sports lead commentator David Croft touched on Hamilton’s Ferrari debut season and the post-sessions line of questioning he’s been forced to answer in the media.

"That must be so demoralising, especially for a seven-time world champion, to constantly keep answering questions about why you are so slow and why is it going so wrong,” Croft told the Express Sport. “Lewis has been a great fighter throughout his career and a great battler. I think he's the GOAT, I really do, he's my greatest of all time for on and off track reasons in that respect, and not just because he's a Stevenage boy and we all stick together.”

Croft then revealed that he’d had a private chat with Lewis Hamilton in Las Vegas where he qualified dead last in P20, the first of the four Q1 exits he would see the F1 2025 season off with. "I caught up with Lewis, I had a chat with him in Vegas,” the Sky Sports commentator added. “I won’t say what we were talking about, but he just needs to believe and remember that he is Lewis Hamilton and that he's not lost that ability," suggesting a lack of self-believe in the seven-time world champion’s state of mind.

However, Croft reveals Hamilton is indeed not retiring from the sport in the winter break ahead of the F1 2026 season. "Lewis is coming back,” he clarified. “He's not going to retire, he's not going to step down. He'll be on the grid in 2026 and I'm sure, knowing Lewis as I do, he'll feel refreshed and invigorated and raring to go after spending a bit of time away from the track."

However, the self-admitted Hamilton fan also had a warning to offer his “GOAT.” "He can't afford to start the season like he's ending this season, and there'll be more and more questions coming his way,” Croft concluded.

Croft's Sky Sports colleague Ted Kravitz says Hamilton’s key focus for next season should be improving his qualifying performance, where he trailed Charles Leclerc. Read why here.

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