Lewis Hamilton has now been waiting more than five years to be crowned Formula 1 champion for the eighth time.
Whether or not it will ever happen is up for debate, but the Briton just suffered the worst year of his career in 2025.
A fairytale move to Ferrari has not worked out so far, and he’s under pressure to bounce back under the new regulations this year.
Nowadays, at the age of 41, his approach to work is a lot more serious than ever. Things aren’t as relaxed when winning doesn’t come as easily.
It means that Hamilton can be quite hard to get a hold of in the paddock, and he doesn’t spend too much time interacting. In fact, at some races, he has his own route to avoid people.
The hype and excitement around him remains the same, though. Fans need to enjoy 2026, as they never know whether it will be one of the greatest of all time’s swansong campaign.
Will Smith pretended to kidnap Lewis Hamilton before the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Formula 1’s 2018 season finale, held at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, wasn’t the most exciting of races. Mercedes had a clear advantage at the time, and there was nothing to be fighting for.
This meant that the drivers could have a little fun, illustrated by the infamous three-way goodbye given by Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, and the retiring Fernando Alonso after the race.
Before the race, Hamilton decided to have a little fun with a close friend of his, who was cheering him on for the weekend.
Or so he thought. In a video staged for X, world-renowned actor and musician Will Smith kidnapped the then five-time champion and put on some racing overalls.
Then he put on one of Hamilton’s helmets and climbed into his car, before he was caught and guided out the back of the garage. At the time, it was a brilliant interaction for fans to see.
It didn’t get in the way of Hamilton, who went on to win the race ahead of Vettel by just two seconds, as he rounded out a successful year in the best way possible.
Why Lewis Hamilton could never stage a repeat of Will Smith’s 2018 kidnapping at Ferrari
It goes without saying that the environment at Ferrari is slightly different to that experienced down at Mercedes following a season where they secured both championships.
There’s a lot of expectation on Ferrari to deliver this year and finally end an 18-year title drought. Fans have been patient.
It means that there is no room for a repeat of such publicity stunts in the future, even if it’s something that Hamilton wouldn’t mind participating in, as it looks bad on the team.
Maybe if they have a really successful season and want to celebrate in style, they could do something similar, but for now, it feels like Smith’s kidnapping was a one-of-a-kind event for Formula 1.
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