Lewis Hamilton has kept receipts as F1 icon lifts lid on long list of Ferrari failures

Lewis Hamilton revealed he has written down every single mistake he and Ferrari have made this season. And the seven-time world champion plans to use that lengthy list of problems to guise his and the team's work over the off-season as he aims to avoid suffering through another miserable year in 2026.

His dream Ferrari move has largely been nightmarish this season and the 40-year-old is running out of chances to win an eighth F1 crown before retirement. Hamilton will have a big say in his destiny having steered Ferrari's 2026 car development direction and is planning more talks with chiefs over the winter.

He said: "It is not actually a straightforward process. We are obviously testing next week and then we go back to the factory and I have got to decide what my approach is when it comes to sitting down with key stakeholders to make the decisions, and how that approach is going to create the change that is needed.

"In terms of personal reflection, every weekend I have written down what I felt went wrong that weekend, the decisions I have taken. There are a lot of things to do there. Through my break I will analyse those decisions and make markers on how I can make better decisions in the future.

"My surroundings in terms of my personal personnel, team personnel, how do you utilise people, whether people need to move into different positions to work better. All these different things need to be looked upon in my personal space so that we can optimise our teamwork."

Having failed to stand on a podium all year, Hamilton is determined to take some benefit from his struggles. Asked what he has learned from this campaign, he added: "That I am resilient - I have surprised myself with how resilient I am. If I can get through a season like this, then there is nothing that I cannot face moving forwards."

Hamilton has only won two Grands Prix since narrowly missing out on the 2021 title, after which a new generation of cars was introduced.

Mercedes struggled to adapt to this regulation set and that left Hamilton with few opportunities to taste success, while his decision to switch to Ferrari has also failed to pay off so far.

Asked if he was able to compare what it has been like this season to his experiences driving for the Silver Arrows, he replied: "I cannot compare them. They are all different in their own ways and I was in a different place. Each year, you are in a different place in your life, so I would not compare them."