A year on since Lewis Hamilton broke the internet

Exactly one year ago today, Lewis Hamilton stood outside Enzo Ferrari's house in Modena, dressed immaculately in a Ferragamo three-piece suit, posing beside an F40. 

The image, posted on 20 January 2025, became the most liked Instagram post in Formula 1 history, amassing 5.7 million likes and reaching 25 million views on X.

It was a moment of pure theatre, capturing the weight of expectation placed upon Hamilton to restore Ferrari's glory after 17 years without a constructors' championship. 

The seven-time world champion's carefully curated appearance, complete with reports of him speaking Italian, signalled his total commitment to the Scuderia.

What followed, however, was anything but glorious.

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Hamilton's nightmare 2025 in red

Hamilton's 2025 campaign became the worst of his career. For the first time since joining F1 in 2007, he completed an entire season without a single grand prix podium. 

His only appearance on the top step of a rostrum came in the China Sprint last March, an anomaly that only highlighted how dire his Sundays became.

The numbers tell a brutal story. Hamilton finished sixth in the championship with 156 points, 86 behind teammate Charles Leclerc's 242. 

He averaged four positions below Leclerc in qualifying and suffered a historic collapse at the season's end, becoming the first full-time Ferrari driver since 2009 to qualify last. 

Three consecutive Q1 eliminations from Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi capped a nightmare he openly described as such.

The SF-25 was fundamentally flawed. A backfiring suspension change, an extremely narrow operating window, and braking instability plagued the car. 

After both Ferraris were disqualified in China for plank wear and weight violations, the team was forced into conservative setups that sacrificed performance. 

Hamilton, adapting to machinery built without his input after 12 Mercedes years, never found comfort with the driving style required.

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Hamilton's 2026 reset

Ferrari made a calculated decision in April 2025, stopping major development after determining the SF-25's concept carried irreparable limitations. Everything pivoted to 2026, where sweeping regulation changes offer a clean slate for all teams.

The new rules introduce lighter, more agile cars with active aerodynamics, redesigned hybrid power units with an even split between combustion and electric power, and a manual override system replacing DRS. It represents the most significant overhaul in F1 history.

For Hamilton, 2026 is critical. Reports suggest Ferrari are developing a split strategy to suit both him and Leclerc, with a third sidepod concept planned for the Australian season opener in March.

Three separate pre-season testing sessions, starting in Barcelona on 26 January, provide crucial preparation time.

That viral photograph from a year ago promised a fairytale ending to Hamilton's career. Instead, 2025 delivered pain. 

Now, the 41-year-old faces his last great challenge: proving the dream is merely delayed, not dead.