Lewis Hamilton appeared genuinely surprised to learn of Max Verstappen‘s victory at the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix, admitting he hadn’t realized the race had concluded as of Sunday evening. the Ferrari driver, who struggled with his car’s performance throughout the weekend and finished outside the points, was initially unaware of the dramatic championship implications stemming from the race result – a three-way fight for the title heading into the Abu Dhabi finale.
Lewis Hamilton admitted he was surprised to learn Max Verstappen had won the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix, revealing “I had no idea” in a post-race interview.
The seven-time Formula 1 champion endured a difficult weekend at the Losail International Circuit, repeatedly voicing concerns about his Ferrari car before finishing outside the points on Sunday.
When questioned about the championship battle heading into the season finale, Hamilton’s focus quickly shifted to Abu Dhabi.
He expressed genuine surprise upon discovering a three-way title fight was unfolding, with McLaren’s Lando Norris holding a narrow 12-point lead over Verstappen, and Oscar Piastri just four points behind. “How is Max 12 points behind now?” he asked.
“Max won?” Hamilton continued, visibly surprised. “Oh my God, I didn’t know, I had no idea. Wow, oh my God. No, no, I thought Piastri won, I don’t know.”
He then quickly checked on Norris’s finishing position. “Really?” he asked when informed the British driver finished fourth. “Lando was fourth? Where did Piastri finish?”
Hamilton didn’t fully grasp the result until learning Piastri finished second, followed by Carlos Sainz of Williams.
“So Oscar is third now?” Hamilton followed up. “It’s going to go down to the wire!”
Despite a fierce rivalry with Verstappen in 2021, Hamilton was quick to praise the driver’s 2025 season.
“We all know Max is doing an amazing job,” he said.
“I think he has an incredible team behind him, and it’s undeniable they’ve had the best car for the last four years. Maybe not so much at the beginning of this year, but they’ve come back.” He added, “He definitely has a great car, but he’s also doing an amazing job with it.”
The former Mercedes driver had previously voiced frustration with a lack of strategic variety due to tire allocation rules and track design. However, with significant regulation changes expected in 2026, Hamilton anticipates more competitive racing.
“I mean, our cars are going to be completely different,” he said.
He concluded, “Hopefully there will be bigger differences between the teams. Maybe. Maybe it will be very different. And maybe there will be more overtaking because, yeah… we’ll see.”
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