Hamilton started on the back row after failing to complete a final lap during qualifying on Friday, and made up ground on the opening lap as several cars tangled ahead of him, but the seven-time world champion was in no mood to take positives.
He insisted he took “zero” satisfaction from salvaging a point and said he felt “terrible” after another frustrating weekend in a year he has repeatedly labelled a nightmare.
“I feel terrible,” he told Sky. “It’s been the worst season ever and no matter how much I try it keeps getting worse. I’m trying everything, in and out of the car.”
The Ferrari driver has been outperformed all season by Charles Leclerc and remains without a grand prix podium in 2025, sitting sixth in the standings and 73 points behind his team-mate.
Even his strong opening-lap progress did little to lift his spirits.
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“It was a pretty straightforward first lap, I just stayed out of trouble,” Hamilton said, later adding that his drive to tenth meant “zero. The most meaningless 10 places, doesn’t mean anything. It’s still a bad weekend.”
When asked whether there was anything positive to take from the race, he replied simply: “No.”
Hamilton said he struggled with the car’s balance from the start and felt contact from Alexander Albon early in the race may have worsened the issues.
“I really struggled,” he told F1’s official channel.
“After the start I struggled with balance. I’m just really struggling with the brakes that we have: locking the fronts, locking the rears, there’s just no in-between. No middle ground.
“Then I was catching Hulkenberg but at the slowest pace, so it wasn’t really particularly quick.”
He added: “I got some damage I think with the Williams and then everything changed after that.”
With Ferrari locked in a tight fight for second in the constructors’ standings, Hamilton was blunt about their prospects.
“I don’t even know how many points we have, but at this rate, with my performance, we’re done,” he said.
Hamilton’s frustration stretched beyond just Las Vegas, summing up the year with, “I’ve had 22 bad weekends,” and giving a blunt, “I don’t know,” when asked if the off-season might offer a fresh start.
2009 world champion Jenson Button praised how Hamilton has handled a gruelling year during the SkySports coverage, but acknowledged the toll it is taking.
“This is the first time I feel that we’ve really seen him seriously deflated and it gets to you,” he said, though he backed Hamilton to rebound over the final rounds.
Leclerc also endured a difficult weekend but said he was at least encouraged by his own performance despite finishing sixth.
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