Lewis Hamilton plans digital detox: 'No one will be able to get hold of me this winter'
Lewis Hamilton reveals he will completely disconnect during the F1 off-season, vowing to ditch his phone after a career-first winless and podium-less year with Ferrari. The seven-time champion is focused on resetting for the 2026 regulation overhaul.
After enduring what he called the most difficult season of his 18-year career, Lewis Hamilton is planning a complete digital and social disconnection this winter, stating he will be unreachable and without his phone as he resets for the 2026 season.
Why it matters:
Hamilton's need for a hard reset underscores the immense mental toll of a historically challenging season. For the first time in his career, the seven-time champion finished a year without a single podium finish, while also being consistently outpaced by teammate Charles Leclerc at Ferrari. His planned isolation highlights the intense pressure top drivers face and the lengths required to recover from a performance slump, especially with major technical regulations looming.
The details:
- Hamilton described the 2025 season as the "most difficult" of his F1 career, marking a stark contrast to his championship-winning years at Mercedes.
- The statistical low points were clear: zero wins and, for the first time ever, zero podium finishes in a single season.
- The intra-team battle at Ferrari proved particularly challenging, with Hamilton largely outperformed by Charles Leclerc, who has seven years of experience with the team.
- When asked to reflect on the season after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Hamilton was succinct: "I don't. I've said all I can about this season already. Just moving forward."
- His disconnection plan is extreme: "No one will be able to get hold of me this winter. I won't have my phone with me... this time, it's going in the frickin bin."
What's next:
The 2026 season represents a critical reset button for Hamilton and the entire grid, with new power unit and aerodynamic regulations set to reshuffle the competitive order. This technical overhaul presents Ferrari with a major opportunity to leap forward. Hamilton's winter detox is a strategic mental preparation for this fresh start, aiming to shed the frustrations of 2025 and return with renewed focus for a championship campaign that the Scuderia desperately needs.