Hamilton “devastated” after qualifying whilst F1 exit announced in German media

qualifying collapse raises more than a few eyebrows – When Ferrari were dealt a painful blow at their first home Grand Prix of the 2025 season at Imola, it wasn’t just the team’s lacklustre qualifying result that was cause for concern.

Beneath the surface of frustration and underperformance, there are renewed retirement whispers about Lewis Hamilton’s long-term future in F1 in the media.After another early qualifying exit, this time from Q2, the seven-time world champion looked more disheartened than ever.

And with Ferrari’s performance failing to live up to expectations, the whispers in the paddock are only getting louder.Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc both dropped out before Q3 on Saturday, finishing eleventh and twelfth respectively, with even the struggling Aston Martins outperforming them. Despite months of optimism surrounding Ferrari’s SF-25, the car once again showed that it lacks the raw pace to compete on Saturdays – especially at a track like Imola where overtaking is no easy task on Sundays. But beyond the stopwatch and the strategy charts, the human story is beginning to take centre stage.

Hamilton’s body language, coupled with the increasing bluntness of his post-race interviews, is fuelling persistent rumours that 2025 could be his last season in F1 – something former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher recently suggested in comments that are gaining traction.